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1960 Daimler SP250 vs 1966 Sunbeam Tiger

British Brawn

By | Photos By Jim Frenak |   |  
You already know that England introduced American servicemen and -women to light, nimble sports cars during and after World War II. And it's pretty well established that, as our servicefolk brought these cars back home and started racing them, many found them lacking in the oomph department. The fix? Swap in a Yank V-8 for the wheezing four-banger most came with, as England's Sydney Allard had been doing with all manner of Yank V-8s. Carroll Shelby became a master of this art, engineering and producing the AC-based Shelby Cobra and helping pupate Sunbeam's caterpillar-slow Alpine into the butterfly-quick Tiger. But we're willing to bet you don't know much about England's first attempt to execute the V-8 sports car concept in-house, which was undertaken by its oldest automaker, Daimler.
You may not even know how to pronounce the name -- DAME-ler, like Dame Edna, not DIME-ler, like the Mercedes brand parent -- though it traces back to the same combustion-engine and motorcar pioneer. In 1891, Gottlieb Daimler sold fellow engineer and friend Frederick Simms the British rights to his patents, and by 1895, Simms had formed the Daimler Motor Company Limited to build engines and cars, with Gottlieb enlisted as a consulting engineer. Britain's oldest car company soon became known for its refined limousines, which chauffeured every British monarch from King Edward VII through Queen Elizabeth II, as well as other European royals. Then in 1950, a transmission failed while transporting King George VI, and the Royal Warrant business was transferred to Rolls-Royce. Before long, other wealthy Europeans followed suit, and Daimler found itself desperately searching for new markets and customers. The burgeoning sports-car craze in America was irresistible. By 1951, Daimler's parent company had acquired the Ariel and Triumph motorcycle brands, and a management upheaval installed Edward Turner (the gifted engineer who designed the Ariel Square Four and Triumph Speed Twin engines) as chief executive of the Automotive Division (Daimler and the bikes). He soon set about designing a family of V-8 engines -- a big one for the limos and a small one to power a British-born American-style sports car. The engine bristled with modern technology, including aluminum heads with fully machined hemispherical combustion chambers, hardened valve seats, and 70 degrees between the valves. A very high-mounted central camshaft with aluminum pushrods opened said valves, and double valve springs closed them reliably at engine speeds over 6000 rpm. A finned cast aluminum oil pan carried more than 7 quarts of oil. With 8.2:1 compression, the compact, lightweight engine made 140 hp and 155 lb-ft of what was often described as "turbine-smooth torque."
Being new to the sports-car game (the sedan hacked down to form the ungainly finned 1953 Conquest Roadster hardly counts), Turner's team cribbed its chassis design from cross-town rival Triumph Motor Company (the motorcycle and car businesses split in 1936). The sturdy box-section frame looks a lot like a TR2/TR3's stretched 4 inches longer and widened a bit. It shares the TR's front control-arm design (and most part numbers) and its underslung leaf-sprung rear suspension setup (frame rails pass beneath the live axle). Four-wheel disc brakes were cutting-edge, however. Fiberglass bodywork was chosen to make the car light and inexpensive to tool -- #16,000, as opposed to #120,000. The styling job, rushed to make the April 1959 New York auto show, was also headed by engineer Turner and his draftsman Jack Wilks. In their haste, they may have tried to incorporate a few too many elements of automotive fashion. Headlamp fairings topped by Daimler-style turn-signal "winkers" flow aft, resolving in prominent American-style tailfins; the smooth flanks are cluttered with swage lines that mimic pontoon fenders; and the low-set scalloped grille -- initially displayed without the extra-cost front bumper -- lent the car a fishy bottom-feeder visage.
The first batch of cars (including our test example) was shipped to America in late 1959. A 6500-mile coast-to-coast publicity run made in 15 days helped prove the SP250's reliability, and performance tests on both sides of the pond were measuring 0-60 in well under 10 seconds with terminal velocities of 120-134 mph and fuel economy in the mid-20s mpg. Duncan Black (of Black & Decker) won eight firsts in 12 events to secure the SCCA E-class production championship in 1960 -- surely a first for the Daimler brand. But the reports weren't all rosy. Road & Track found the "weather sealing adequate, though not absolute" and the steering "a little heavy during cornering." Sports Cars Illustrated complained about the top's three latches, 21 snaps, and fussy erecting procedure. Several publications noted severe cowl and steering-wheel shake on rough roads, which sometimes led to doors flying open!
Meanwhile, Coventry neighbor Jaguar was outgrowing its facilities, and, finding no room for expansion, seized an opportunity in May 1960 to purchase Daimler for #3.4 million (the equivalent of $71 million in 2012). New boss Sir William Lyons was taken aback by the body quality of the SP250 and recalled all unsold models (including a boatload of them at sea) to effect repairs. These included extra chassis bracing and a U-shaped steel reinforcement in the cowl area. But with the stunning E-Type just months away from introduction, Lyons' heart was not really in the further development of the directly competitive SP250. Nevertheless, he personally took a swing at redesigning the body (see sidebar above). Alas, the little SP250 was put to pasture in October 1964 after just 2652 examples had been built, 1201 with left-hand drive. They were the last true Daimlers, though the V-8 engine lived on through 1969 in a pricier Daimler-rebadged Jag Mk 2 sedan, dubbed variously 2.5 V-8 or V-8 250.
Just a few months after the Daimler took its bow in New York, another British sports car that would evolve into its closest competitor/successor took the stage at the July 1959 Earls Court Motor Show back home in London -- the Sunbeam Alpine. It was also intended to woo American sports-car buyers, so the company hired designer Kenneth Howes away from Ford to lead the design team, which may explain why the car vaguely resembles a 3/4-scale '56-'57 Thunderbird. The design wore its fins a bit more comfortably than the Daimler. The all-steel unitized body shared several creature comforts with the SP250, like wind-up windows (plastic side-curtains were the roadster norm), a telescoping steering wheel, and a removable hardtop, and trumped the Daimler with reclining seats and a soft top that was considerably easier to erect.
But the smaller, much cheaper Alpine was in an entirely different league in the engine department, running a version of the Rapier sedan's 1494cc four with a higher compression (9.2:1) aluminum head and twin Zenith carburetors, good for 83 gross horsepower on premium fuel. The engine size increased through the years, to 1592 and later 1725 cc, but drivers racing Alpines against MGs and Porsches -- including factory pilots Jack Brabham and Stirling Moss -- begged for more power. The Daimler V-8 was considered, but it didn't fit. A 1600cc DOHC Alfa engine was considered. Enzo Ferrari was approached about designing a high-performance cylinder head and Weber carburetion setup for the Alpine's engine, but he backed out of the deal at the eleventh hour. American West Coast representative Ian Garrad knew that a Yank V-8 was the answer, but the engineering team refused to consider the option, so he decided to build it himself. How hard could it be?
Step one: Grab a yardstick and measure the Alpine's engine bay. Step 2: Send some guys to local dealerships to measure V-8s. He had hoped the aluminum Buick would fit, but no. Small-block Chevy? Nope. Falcon 260? Just right! And as the only candidate engine with its distributor conveniently located at the front of the engine, the Ford mill could nestle back under the cowl/heater core area with relative ease. Step 3: Hire Carroll Shelby, the established engine-transplant expert, to engineer the Alpine V-8 swap. Shelby quoted the job at $10,000, requiring eight weeks. Garrad managed to liquor up the company chairman's son, Brian Rootes, and plead his case. He got the cash he needed with the admonition "Don't tell Dad!" The 260 measured 3.5 inches longer and 2.0 inches taller than the Alpine's four, so Shelby and project chief George Boskoff set to work modifying the firewall and tunnel to allow the Ford powertrain to sit as far back as possible. This helped weight distribution and accommodated the Ford's cooling system, but required replacing the rear-steering Burman recirculating-ball box with a front-steering MGA rack-and-pinion. Eager to prove the concept, Garrad also hired racer Ken Miles to do a quickie 260/automatic drivetrain swap, with no body modifications or engineering, which he did in five days for $600, snuggling the engine right up against the radiator to clear the bodywork and steering gear, and using electric pusher fans for cooling. Its weight distribution was terrible, but it went like hell, and all who drove it emerged giggling like schoolchildren. The Shelby mule racked up 30,000 development miles on roads and tracks before being shipped to England to be sprung on an unsuspecting chairman, Lord Rootes, and his factory engineering staff. Rootes is said to have disappeared in a cloud of tire smoke and returned grinning from ear to ear. He declared the project a GO, and suggested the name Tiger to commemorate Sunbeam's 1926 land-speed record car of the same name.
Development continued in England to verify Shelby's work, with final engineering duties and assembly farmed out to neighboring Jensen. In the end, the car gained roughly 285 pounds, with front/rear distribution shifting from the Alpine's 49/51 percent to 51/49. Like the SP250, the Tiger made its debut in New York in April 1964. Orders flooded in along with kudos from the press. Mechanix Illustrated's "Uncle Tom" McCahill pronounced it "A ripsnorting British bomb" whose "260 V-8 turns this 22-short into a full-bore magnum cartridge that can stay with most of the hottest cars." Motor Trend praised its fast, flat cornering, communicative steering, and neutral handling after hot-lapping Willow Springs. We also reported on the wide range of speed performance parts offered at the dealer level, from engine mods to traction bars, rear-disc brakes, and more. Road & Track tested a 245-hp Stage I version, concluding that "the 590-13 tires seem inadequate, the suspension needs additional strengthening, and one gets the impression of imposing upon the car to an unnecessary degree." Traction limitations meant that, "up to about 60 mph, the additional power does not really earn its money, but after 60 mph, the modified car comes into its own." A Tiger campaigned by Doane Spencer very nearly captured the SCCA B-Production title in 1965, before being reclassified in C with LAT modifications banned.
A series of labor strikes and the death of Lord Rootes in 1964 took a serious toll on Sunbeam's Rootes Group parent company, which led to Chrysler purchasing controlling interest for #27 million ($540 million in 2012 -- less of a steal than Daimler). The "Powered by Ford" badges were replaced with "Rootes V8" signage but because Chrysler's 273 small-block V-8 wouldn't fit without major surgery, the company continued to sell and warranty (for 2 years/24,000 miles) Ford-powered Tigers, including 533 Mk II '67 models with standard 289 power. In the end, pending safety regs, mounting costs, and the Rootes Group's persistent downward economic spiral doomed the Tiger and eventually Chrysler's whole European adventure. In all, 7067 Tigers were built. Today, Daimlers are just about as hard to find on our shores as completely bone-stock factory-original 260 Tigers. It seems nobody could resist upgrading a Tiger at least a little bit, and Bill Bulpitt's 1966 Mk 1A model has an assortment of period correct dealer-available upgrades. Most were supplied by Los Angeles Tigers, including the wheels (originally designed for the Fitch Sprint Corvairs), rollbar, Hurst shifter, wide-ratio Tiger Mk II-spec four-speed, and engine modifications that bring it up to Ford K-code 289 HiPo specs.
As the owner of a '67 Sunbeam Alpine myself, I start out in this familiar cockpit and am immediately struck by its sharper steering response. A quicker ratio results in more heft at the rim, and tight turns result in tire squeal and pavement marking, as there's no Ackerman angle adjustment to turn the inside wheel sharper. The wide-ratio box brings a shorter first gear that makes the car easier to launch than period reporters found, but engaging the clutch still results in some juddering. Once hooked up, the big engine is quite prepared to press you into the seat, singing a baritone burble that could probably still convince the chairman of a troubled automaker to go for it. I later drive an even hotter 302 Tiger that Daimler owner John Ayers brought along, and it's a feral beast, shaking the car at idle and forever straining at its leash.
Sliding behind the big wheel of Ayers' gorgeous early SP250 (serial no. 55), the contrast in refinement is stark, with plusher carpet, leather seats, and a padded dash. The little hemi-head V-8 is incredibly tractable, and it rumbles in a lower, basso register that sounds equally splendid over the clash of the straight-cut, non-synchronized first gear hardware. Second through fourth are synchronized and of quieter helical cut design, controlled by a precious little shifter and knob that move with the precision of a rifle bolt. The 2-3 upshift must be negotiated carefully, though, to avoid nudging first (crash!) or getting caught out in the reverse dogleg, but a bit of practice makes perfect. Steering feels a bit woolly, raising doubts about the factory's claim, "nimble as a kitten in traffic." The brakes feel firm and direct, even if the pedal seems to hover a mile above the accelerator. Both cars were available in 1964, and one can imagine the high-tech 2.5-liter V-8 running nearly neck and neck with the less expensive Tiger's simpler stock 4.3 liter, unless the Tiger owner spent the base price difference souping it up like Bulpitt's car.
What-if scenarios always swirl through the mind after a day of driving interesting short-lived cars like these. Might the better-looking SP252 have helped keep Daimler viable? Might a less belligerent workforce have prevented the collapse of Lord Rootes and his company? Possibly, but it's more likely that the price of the Daimler and a performance-competitive Tiger were simply too close to that of the venerable Corvette to make either of them truly viable long-term.

Engine 288.5-cu-in/4728cc OHV V-8, 1x4-bbl Edelbrock 1850 600-cfm carburetor Power and torque (SAE gross) 271 hp @ 6000 rpm, 312 lb-ft @ 3400 rpm Drivetrain 4-speed manual RWD Brakes front: solid disc, rear: drum Suspension front: control arms, coil springs, anti-roll bar; rear: live axle, leaf springs Dimensions L: 156.0 in, W: 60.5 in, H: 51.5 in Weight 2550 lb Performance 0-60 mph: 8.9 sec, quarter mile: 16.7 sec @ 85 mph, 60-0 mph: 151 ft (Motor Trend, February 1965, stock 260-cu-in/164-hp/250-lb-ft and Warner T-10 4-speed with dealer-installed Traction-Master bars)
Price when new $4412 (including period dealer modifications)
is a mechanical engineer working in the energy sector. While serving as an Air Force lieutenant, he bought this Tiger from a USAF Captain in February 1973 with 48,000 miles on it, and has added over 100,000 miles since.
WHY I LIKE IT: "I like that it looks like a three-quarter-scale '57 Thunderbird, the Ford drivetrain, and the fact that, like the Cobra, it's a small car with a lot of power."
WHY IT'S COLLECTIBLE: Tigers are the most affordable point of entry to a light, track-oriented V-8 sports car developed by Carroll Shelby, in terms of purchase price and running costs.
RESTORING/MAINTAINING: There are several major suppliers like Sunbeam Specialties and VBL, and lots of the Ford stuff is available at Pep Boys. Mark II Tiger trim is tough to find as only 538 examples were built.
BEWARE: Tigers tend to run hot, making cooling-system upgrades desirable. Watch for counterfeit cloned Alpines passing as Tigers. It's not easy, but escalating Tiger values are making it worth attempting. Also avoid ex-race cars returned to stock.
EXPECT TO PAY: Concours-ready, $51,100; solid driver, $28,400; tired runner, $15,900.
JOIN THE CLUB: Sunbeam Tiger Owners Association (stoa-tigerclub.com), Tigers East/Alpines East (teae.org), California Association of Tiger Owners (catmbr.org)
"With a comfortable, roomy interior, fully instrumented dash, and outstanding performance, the Tiger's a lot of sports car for $3499. [Its] performance will be compared with the Cobra's and Corvette's, but it's priced a good $1000 below either." -- Bob McVay, Motor Trend, February 1965
NOW: Perhaps the ultimate hands-on vintage Brit roadster, the Sunbeam Tiger owner community supports and encourages personalization, modification, enhancement, and racing like no other, so find one you like and make it your own.
1960 DAIMLER SP250
155.5-cu-in/2548cc OHV V-8, 2x1-bbl SU HD6 carburetors Power and torque (SAE gross) 140 hp @ 5800 rpm, 155 lb-ft @ 3600 rpm Drivetrain 4-speed manual RWD Brakes front: solid disc, rear: drum (a later retrofit, solid discs were standard) Suspension front: control arms, coil springs; rear: live axle, leaf springs Dimensions L: 160.5 in, W: 60.5 in, H: 50.3 in Weight 2260 lb Performance 0-60 mph: 9.1 sec, quarter mile: 16.9 sec @ 83 mph, (Road & Track, March 1960)
Price when new $4259
is a plumbing contractor and real-estate developer who caught the car-collecting bug after his kids were grown, and has amassed an eclectic fleet of nine cars including two rare left-hook Daimlers.
WHY I LIKE IT: "I love the quirky looks of it, the fact that it's unusual and has a face that only a mother could love."
WHY IT'S COLLECTIBLE: The SP250 was the last unique model from Britain's oldest automaker, it was the brand's only true sports car, and its V-8 engine was both technically advanced and reliable.
RESTORING/MAINTAINING: Parts aren't too hard to find, and the engines are robust. There's comparatively little trim on the car, and many of the mechanical parts were sourced from Jaguar or Triumph.
BEWARE: Watch for rusted steel reinforcement plates in the fiberglass body, especially on either side of the radiator, and for cracks around the trunk due to imprudent packing. Steel wheels also tend to crack near their mounting holes.
EXPECT TO PAY: Concours-ready, $36,575; solid driver, $19,250; tired runner, $10,775.
JOIN THE CLUB: Daimler & Lanchester Owners' Club (dloc.org.uk)
"It is delightful to see a new sports car reach the market when its powerplant is a fresh design rather than a warmed-up version out of some sedate sedan. We trust that the same talent which created this engine will soon be able to turn its attention to the chassis' shortcomings. -- Unattributed, Sports Cars Illustrated, March 1960
NOW: Surviving SP250s are best experienced wafting along gently curving roads, while you enjoy the wind in your hair, the burble from the dual exhaust, and the view over the deeply sculpted hood. Vintage racers and Copperstate ralliers will be better served by the Tiger.

The Daimler looks a bit like a Studebaker ! I'll take the Tiger


Ford needs to build a modern-day successor to the Tiger with a 2.0 or 3.5 ecoBoost and perhaps a 5.0 version!!


the performance shop I worked at for a bit put a stroker 347 ford (450 hp est) in a sunbeam tiger and that thing went like a bat outta hell. 30 mph roll on the throttle 150 foot burnouts were badass, the guy pulled an a8 on the highway and said driving the car is the most fun he has ever had.


@fxcamaro I saw a well-engineered 500 hp Ford Windsor-powered Miata last Summer that was basically an open-roofed lathe for removing the tread from tires the fun way. What a screamer!


thats badass lol, my little brother s got a 240 sx with a 87 iroc 305 in it, and the 5 speed. I can't wait to what that thing will do, going to build a better bottom end while he drives it for a bit and gets used to the v8 swap.  only real issue is I gotta make my 68 camaro faster so he can't beat me

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