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Model history and curiosity

Production years: 1963 – 1964

Engine: straight-4
Capacity: 1592 cc
Power: 85.52 HP at 5200 rpm
Seats: 2
Top speed: 153 km/h
Number of cars produced: around 100

The Sunbeam Alpine Series III Spider was not an original Touring design but rather a “restyling” of the version built in England included in the contract the Carrozzeria signed with the Rootes Group at the end of 1961. This agreement also stipulated the assembly-line production of the Hilman Superminx (with most components shipped from the UK and metal plates stamped in Italy), and the design and manufacture of a new model with the Superleggera system: the Sunbeam Venezia.

The restyling was quick and easy, mainly consisting in a “Touring-style” remake of the two obtrusive, unaesthetic, and anachronistic rear fins of the original Sunbeam Alpine III. All the other distinctive elements of its classic English-roadster design were maintained, but an elegant hard top, which allowed to convert it into a classy coupé, was created and offered as an optional.

The production of the Sunbeam Alpine Series III Spider, along with that of the other two models, ceased in mid-1964 when the Rootes Group filed for bankruptcy, driving Touring in a financial cliff which led to its closure at the end of 1966.