1913 Sunbeam 12/16hp Tourer

1913 Sunbeam 12/16hp Tourer

Founded by John Marston, a God-fearing Victorian industrialist who foresaw the growth in demand for private transport, Sunbeam was first associated with beautifully made, though expensive, bicycles. Although comparative latecomers to motor car manufacture, the Wolverhampton-based Sunbeam factory quickly established a fine reputation alongside Lanchester, Wolseley, Austin and Daimler at the heart of the expanding Midlands motor industry. Apart from the curious Sunbeam-Mabley cycle car, Sunbeam's production centered mainly on four-cylinder models, which have survived in greater numbers than any of its aforementioned contemporaries.

The company's first conventional car was largely conceived by T C Pullinger, who persuaded Marston to purchase a complete chassis from the French Berliet concern. Exhibited at the Crystal Palace in November 1902, it was marketed as the Sunbeam 10/12, but it was not until 1907, two years after the Sunbeam Motor Car Company had been formed, that the firm produced its first all-British model, the 16/20. The arrival from Hillman in 1909 of influential designer Louis Coatalen and the pursuit of an effective competitions programme enabled the marque to establish a formidable reputation prior to WWI, its superbly made products enjoying a reputation rivalling that of the best from Alvis and Bentley thereafter.

By the outbreak of WWI, the Sunbeam range consisted of four-cylinder 3.0-litre 12/16hp and 4.0-litre 16/20hp models plus the six-cylinder 25/30hp. Fewer than 5,000 of the 12/16hp model were made between 1910 and 1914, the example offered here being one of an estimated 70-or-so survivors. Manufactured in 1913, it represents the model in its 'second series' form, with monobloc 'F'-head engine, bevel drive back axle, and rear-mounted fuel tank.

Descriptions & pictures by bonhams