an old classic.....
Discussion
I have 2 tales no make that three to tell on these wonderful little rockets.
Firstly in 1979 I had a TR4 and was blown into the weeds by one when frankly I had never even seen one before.
In 1981 a friend would hire Goodwood and invite fellow looneys, by now I had an MGBV8 and it spat its 3rd gear out at Lavant so I bagged a ride in a Lotus Sunbeam the driver of which was totally bonkers as he would fly into the corners with the car sideways and bouncing off the bump stops complaining it did not handle..........we went off..........at Lavant nearly hitting a Renault 18 Turbo, great stuff if a little scary.
Fast forward to 2001 or 2 and we did the Haynes Classic Motorsport run using this
and at Castle Combe we had a good scrap with what I thought was a Cheetah as it was red. It took some getting past and afterwards I chatted to the driver who informed me that the car was in fact the prototype Lotus and had been in a museum for 15 years.
Fragile but fantastic cars.
Firstly in 1979 I had a TR4 and was blown into the weeds by one when frankly I had never even seen one before.
In 1981 a friend would hire Goodwood and invite fellow looneys, by now I had an MGBV8 and it spat its 3rd gear out at Lavant so I bagged a ride in a Lotus Sunbeam the driver of which was totally bonkers as he would fly into the corners with the car sideways and bouncing off the bump stops complaining it did not handle..........we went off..........at Lavant nearly hitting a Renault 18 Turbo, great stuff if a little scary.
Fast forward to 2001 or 2 and we did the Haynes Classic Motorsport run using this
and at Castle Combe we had a good scrap with what I thought was a Cheetah as it was red. It took some getting past and afterwards I chatted to the driver who informed me that the car was in fact the prototype Lotus and had been in a museum for 15 years.
Fragile but fantastic cars.
Interesting story ! The Sunbeam Lotus must surely be the Hotest Hot Hatch . It's short wheel base made it very twitchy , and frightening I'n the wet . I really liked my one , but the build quality was shocking and the bodies just disolve .
I personally prefer the Series 2 , would love another one , preferable one of the Last DAC ...Y Registerd ones .
I personally prefer the Series 2 , would love another one , preferable one of the Last DAC ...Y Registerd ones .
I only went in one once. A mate's Dad collected us from school in a brand new one when I was about 11 or 12. He had been lent it by the dealer for an extended test drive. I have no memory of the actual driving experience, but the one thing that stuck in my mind was that you couldn't push the seat-back forward properly to get into the back seat because the head-rest fouled the roof lining.
I can remember that sort of banal nonsense from 30 years ago, but not what I had for dinner last night!
I can remember that sort of banal nonsense from 30 years ago, but not what I had for dinner last night!
Nice Lotus Sunbeam 
I had two of these fantastic little cars, I would love another.
My first one was a used series one [ they were all black with a silver stripe ], I part ex’d it for a Mk 1 Escort RS1600, monza blue, in hindsight I should of kept the RS, but that was then, and the Lotus was a Far superior, and much quicker road car.
The handling in standard form was not in an Escort league, it was too high at the back, and no lsd.
I fitted some lower rear springs, and an LSD which made it much better, not to mention even more fun.
I remember before I did this whilst hooning around the back roads nr Boarhunt popping it nose first into a ditch without damage fortunately,, after the mods I never did that again!
When the series 2 came out in 82 ? I ordered what was then my very first new car, took out a loan and acquired this little gem.
Despite some agro with the garage in Southsea where I bought the car regarding the paint finish, eventually it ended up with Bilsteins all round with lowered uprated springs, LSD out of my old Lotus, a quick rack then I sent the Cly head off to be modded which ended giving around 200 brake, it certainly was a lot quicker, still twitchy though, especially at speed.
I had a set or Perelli P7 corsa rally tyres fitted, which had fantastic grip, but only lasted 2000 miles!
How quick was it, well, I had a little run in with a Ferrari 308 on the A32 out the back of Fareham under the M27 bridge, by the time we got to the slight bend the speedo was over 3 figures, and the 308 had dropped back,,,,,,,,,,,,,, a bit!
I had two of these fantastic little cars, I would love another.
My first one was a used series one [ they were all black with a silver stripe ], I part ex’d it for a Mk 1 Escort RS1600, monza blue, in hindsight I should of kept the RS, but that was then, and the Lotus was a Far superior, and much quicker road car.
The handling in standard form was not in an Escort league, it was too high at the back, and no lsd.
I fitted some lower rear springs, and an LSD which made it much better, not to mention even more fun.
I remember before I did this whilst hooning around the back roads nr Boarhunt popping it nose first into a ditch without damage fortunately,, after the mods I never did that again!
When the series 2 came out in 82 ? I ordered what was then my very first new car, took out a loan and acquired this little gem.
Despite some agro with the garage in Southsea where I bought the car regarding the paint finish, eventually it ended up with Bilsteins all round with lowered uprated springs, LSD out of my old Lotus, a quick rack then I sent the Cly head off to be modded which ended giving around 200 brake, it certainly was a lot quicker, still twitchy though, especially at speed.
I had a set or Perelli P7 corsa rally tyres fitted, which had fantastic grip, but only lasted 2000 miles!
How quick was it, well, I had a little run in with a Ferrari 308 on the A32 out the back of Fareham under the M27 bridge, by the time we got to the slight bend the speedo was over 3 figures, and the 308 had dropped back,,,,,,,,,,,,,, a bit!
Come on Andy (OP), you can do better pictures than that!
A few points from the various comments:
This is the prototype Lotus mentioned:
Series 2 cars came out as 1981 models, not 1982 (the factory closed down in May '81!). The Moonstone Blue cars left Lotus much later in the year.
The front seats do go forward all the way with a gentle nudge to push the headrest beneath the roof (the red car pictured doesn't have production Lotus seats, by the way).
"hatchbacks now have made this kind of performance seem ordinary" - the difference is that modern hatchbacks are mostly FWD, and don't sound like the 911 engine sucking through twin 45s. There are certainly quicker new cars but the wee Sunbeam is a different experience altogether, and more of an occasion (with added nostalgia!). And remember that thirty years ago they were so much quicker than anything remotely comparable (mention of the Ferrari 308 is valid, since the Sunbeam matched it in acceleration times) - there still are few hatches of a similar pace.
"Sunbeam Lotus or Lotus Sunbeam" - officially it's a (Talbot) Sunbeam Lotus but they were always referred to as Lotus Sunbeams by Lotus themselves and even by Talbot (or Chrysler as they were when the car was developed).
Anyone who used to own one is invited to contact the Sunbeam Lotus Owners' Club to add their old cars to the archive register.
Oh, and I'm guessing that the Dolly pictured was modified somewhat; from experience I can vouch that they wouldn't normally keep up with a Sunbeam Lotus.
Might as well finish with a shot of a production car, albeit with bigger wheels:
A few points from the various comments:
This is the prototype Lotus mentioned:
Series 2 cars came out as 1981 models, not 1982 (the factory closed down in May '81!). The Moonstone Blue cars left Lotus much later in the year.
The front seats do go forward all the way with a gentle nudge to push the headrest beneath the roof (the red car pictured doesn't have production Lotus seats, by the way).
"hatchbacks now have made this kind of performance seem ordinary" - the difference is that modern hatchbacks are mostly FWD, and don't sound like the 911 engine sucking through twin 45s. There are certainly quicker new cars but the wee Sunbeam is a different experience altogether, and more of an occasion (with added nostalgia!). And remember that thirty years ago they were so much quicker than anything remotely comparable (mention of the Ferrari 308 is valid, since the Sunbeam matched it in acceleration times) - there still are few hatches of a similar pace.
"Sunbeam Lotus or Lotus Sunbeam" - officially it's a (Talbot) Sunbeam Lotus but they were always referred to as Lotus Sunbeams by Lotus themselves and even by Talbot (or Chrysler as they were when the car was developed).
Anyone who used to own one is invited to contact the Sunbeam Lotus Owners' Club to add their old cars to the archive register.
Oh, and I'm guessing that the Dolly pictured was modified somewhat; from experience I can vouch that they wouldn't normally keep up with a Sunbeam Lotus.
Might as well finish with a shot of a production car, albeit with bigger wheels:
Edited by AllNines on Friday 18th November 16:27
AllNines said:
Come on Andy (OP), you can do better pictures than that!
A few points from the various comments:
This is the prototype Lotus mentioned:
Series 2 cars came out as 1981 models, not 1982 (the factory closed down in May '81!). The Moonstone Blue cars left Lotus much later in the year.
The front seats do go forward all the way with a gentle nudge to push the headrest beneath the roof (the red car pictured doesn't have production Lotus seats, by the way).
"hatchbacks now have made this kind of performance seem ordinary" - the difference is that modern hatchbacks are mostly FWD, and don't sound like the 911 engine sucking through twin 45s. There are certainly quicker new cars but the wee Sunbeam is a different experience altogether, and more of an occasion (with added nostalgia!). And remember that thirty years ago they were so much quicker than anything remotely comparable (mention of the Ferrari 308 is valid, since the Sunbeam matched it in acceleration times) - there still are few hatches of a similar pace.
"Sunbeam Lotus or Lotus Sunbeam" - officially it's a (Talbot) Sunbeam Lotus but they were always referred to as Lotus Sunbeams by Lotus themselves and even by Talbot (or Chrysler as they were when the car was developed).
Anyone who used to own one is invited to contact the Sunbeam Lotus Owners' Club to add their old cars to the archive register.
Oh, and I'm guessing that the Dolly pictured was modified somewhat; from experience I can vouch that they wouldn't normally keep up with a Sunbeam Lotus.
Might as well finish with a shot of a production car, albeit with bigger wheels:
Yes you are quite right that a Sprint is outgunned and out handled by a Sunbeam Lotus my Sprint packs about 170bhp and is poly bushed with vented brakes that I have made for myself and 70 other Dollies too.A few points from the various comments:
This is the prototype Lotus mentioned:
Series 2 cars came out as 1981 models, not 1982 (the factory closed down in May '81!). The Moonstone Blue cars left Lotus much later in the year.
The front seats do go forward all the way with a gentle nudge to push the headrest beneath the roof (the red car pictured doesn't have production Lotus seats, by the way).
"hatchbacks now have made this kind of performance seem ordinary" - the difference is that modern hatchbacks are mostly FWD, and don't sound like the 911 engine sucking through twin 45s. There are certainly quicker new cars but the wee Sunbeam is a different experience altogether, and more of an occasion (with added nostalgia!). And remember that thirty years ago they were so much quicker than anything remotely comparable (mention of the Ferrari 308 is valid, since the Sunbeam matched it in acceleration times) - there still are few hatches of a similar pace.
"Sunbeam Lotus or Lotus Sunbeam" - officially it's a (Talbot) Sunbeam Lotus but they were always referred to as Lotus Sunbeams by Lotus themselves and even by Talbot (or Chrysler as they were when the car was developed).
Anyone who used to own one is invited to contact the Sunbeam Lotus Owners' Club to add their old cars to the archive register.
Oh, and I'm guessing that the Dolly pictured was modified somewhat; from experience I can vouch that they wouldn't normally keep up with a Sunbeam Lotus.
Might as well finish with a shot of a production car, albeit with bigger wheels:
Edited by AllNines on Friday 18th November 16:27
The picture was for Practical Classics at a photo shoot at Curborough.
The prototype was driven by the guy who developed it (so he told me) and lets be honest it was such a historic vehicle you would not risk a crash would you?
I was just honoured to share the track with it.
Sounds like a well-sorted Sprint, nice one. The chap you spoke to would have been the late Paul Burch who ran Stag Hill Motors in the 70s and then Charters, both being Talbot dealers. He developed the Cheetah, not the Lotus. He was a pretty tasty driver, having rallied extensively. The car was always pretty standard in power and suspension, and only came out a couple of times a year.
When i was 18 years old my cousin came to visit my father in hospital with me. When we left hospital he opened the bonnet of his seies one lotus sunbeam. I just thought to myself right then, i gonna have one of these babies. He then chucked me the keys and let me drive it home................
So in 1994 i purchased DAC 40Y , which was blue back then and over the years been upgraded the spec. on the car to its precent state. It takes a fair bit of cash to get them to handle and give them around 220 bhp. but because there so light 900 kg. the power to weight is impressive.
I've had numerous M cars but none compared to driving this inane car...... love it...
So in 1994 i purchased DAC 40Y , which was blue back then and over the years been upgraded the spec. on the car to its precent state. It takes a fair bit of cash to get them to handle and give them around 220 bhp. but because there so light 900 kg. the power to weight is impressive.
I've had numerous M cars but none compared to driving this inane car...... love it...
Loved mine raced a 635Csi in the wet that was fun, 3.0s capri I chased ended up spinning onto a grass verge no damage luckily.
My mother borowed it and tusseled with a Jensen Interceptor for 20 miles in Wales, he pulled over eventually to see what the car was he couldn't shake off.
Sold it to a young guy who had inherited some money already written off a couple of RS2000's probably killed it RRW630W late Mk1
My mother borowed it and tusseled with a Jensen Interceptor for 20 miles in Wales, he pulled over eventually to see what the car was he couldn't shake off.
Sold it to a young guy who had inherited some money already written off a couple of RS2000's probably killed it RRW630W late Mk1
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