-
Welcome to the new SAOCA website. Already a member? Simply click Log In/Sign Up up and to the right and use your same username and password from the old site. If you've forgotten your password, please send an email to membership@sunbeamalpine.org for assistance.
If you're new here, click Log In/Sign Up and enter your information. We'll approve your account as quickly as possible, typically in about 24 hours. If it takes longer, you were probably caught in our spam/scam filter.
Enjoy.
Tigre racing team
- Thread starter Tom H
- Start date
Barry
Diamond Level Sponsor
Borrowed from Wikipedia. Text size and color of last sentence changed for emphasis.
Development
Lack of space under the bonnet makes some maintenance tasks difficult.
All Rootes products had to be approved by Lord Rootes, who was reportedly "very grumpy" when he learned of the work that had gone into the Tiger project without his knowledge. He agreed to have the Shelby prototype shipped from America in July 1963 for him and his team to assess. He insisted on driving the car himself, and was so impressed that shortly after returning from his test drive he contacted Henry Ford II directly to negotiate a deal for the supply of Ford V8 engines.[15] Rootes placed an initial order for 3000,[16] the number of Tigers it expected to sell in the first year,[17] the largest single order Ford had ever received for its engines from an automobile manufacturer.[18] Not only did Lord Rootes agree that the car would go into production, but he decided that it should be launched at the 1964 New York Motor Show, only eight months away, despite the company's normal development cycle from "good idea" to delivery of the final product being three to four years.[19]
Installing such a large engine in a relatively small vehicle required some modifications, although the exterior sheet metal remained essentially the same as the Alpine's. Necessary chassis modifications included moving from the Burman recirculating ball steering mechanism to a more modern rack and pinion system.[20]
Although twice as powerful as the Alpine, the Tiger is only about 20% heavier,[21] but the extra weight of the larger engine required some minor suspension modifications. Nevertheless, the Tiger's front-to-back weight ratio is very similar to the Alpine's, at 51.7/48.3 front/rear.[22]
Shortly before its public unveiling at the New York Motor Show in April 1964 the car was renamed from Thunderbolt to Tiger, inspired by Sunbeam's 1925 land-speed-record holder.[23][c]
Development
Lack of space under the bonnet makes some maintenance tasks difficult.
All Rootes products had to be approved by Lord Rootes, who was reportedly "very grumpy" when he learned of the work that had gone into the Tiger project without his knowledge. He agreed to have the Shelby prototype shipped from America in July 1963 for him and his team to assess. He insisted on driving the car himself, and was so impressed that shortly after returning from his test drive he contacted Henry Ford II directly to negotiate a deal for the supply of Ford V8 engines.[15] Rootes placed an initial order for 3000,[16] the number of Tigers it expected to sell in the first year,[17] the largest single order Ford had ever received for its engines from an automobile manufacturer.[18] Not only did Lord Rootes agree that the car would go into production, but he decided that it should be launched at the 1964 New York Motor Show, only eight months away, despite the company's normal development cycle from "good idea" to delivery of the final product being three to four years.[19]
Installing such a large engine in a relatively small vehicle required some modifications, although the exterior sheet metal remained essentially the same as the Alpine's. Necessary chassis modifications included moving from the Burman recirculating ball steering mechanism to a more modern rack and pinion system.[20]
Although twice as powerful as the Alpine, the Tiger is only about 20% heavier,[21] but the extra weight of the larger engine required some minor suspension modifications. Nevertheless, the Tiger's front-to-back weight ratio is very similar to the Alpine's, at 51.7/48.3 front/rear.[22]
Shortly before its public unveiling at the New York Motor Show in April 1964 the car was renamed from Thunderbolt to Tiger, inspired by Sunbeam's 1925 land-speed-record holder.[23][c]
Thanks, Barry. Reading that I was also able to clarify what I thought I read on an old photo I saw on PBS Antiques Roadshow. It showed a car I thought was labelled Tigre. After reading the Wiki article I revisited the photo and saw that it was Tigres(second s cutoff in photo) . Next to it was the 1925 Tiger. I had not previously known about the 1925 Sunbeam Tiger.
RootesRooter
Donation Time
In addition to the 1925 LSR "Tiger," plus the "Tigress" you mentioned, there was also a "Cub."