Worldwide Auctioneers to Offer First Production Sunbeam Tiger in Arizona

Firsts and lasts are coveted in the collector world — especially so when we’re talking about low-production performance models.

The Sunbeam Alpine was a capable British sports car, but it lacked power, so Rootes Group called on Carroll Shelby and Ford to add some of the same mojo that they’d used to turn AC’s Ace into the hot Cobra. A 260-ci Ford V8 was just the ticket, and with that, the Tiger was born.

This car is said to be the first — ROTA No: 1, and Jensen factory body number 0001JAL. But even with that early status, it was technically completed in a batch of cars on June 27, 1964, as that’s when transmissions became available.

This Tiger was originally delivered to Danyluk Motors in California and stayed with two different owners in the Hollywood area until it was bought and moved to Washington state in 1995. Now a four-owner car from new, it’s been completely restored in Moonstone white with a red and black piped interior. It has its original engine, heads and chassis, and comes with a bunch of documentation.

This Tiger was awarded a Certificate of Authenticity from the Sunbeam Tiger Owners Association and also comes with a COA from the Coventry Transport Museum. Since restoration, the car’s been only driven sparingly. It’s been shown at The LeMay — America’s Car Museum and at the Pacific Northwest Concours d’Elegance.

Worldwide Auctioneers’ Arizona sale takes place at Singh Meadows in Tempe on Friday, January 26 2024.

Learn more here.

Images: Worldwide Auctioneers