Unleash the Tiger!

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If the AC Cobra really was such a good idea then there must have been others to copy it, right? Yes, there was Jack Griffith’s TVR Griffith, but in fact it was Cobra instigator Carroll Shelby himself – the ex-chicken farmer, US Marine pilot and Le Mans driver –who came up with a clone: the Sunbeam Tiger. That car was introduced in New York on April 1964. Yep, it’s 5 decades ago that this picture was taken. Like the Cobra, the Tiger was based on a mundane British roadster (the Alpine) but now with 4.2 litre Ford V8 shoehorned in it.

Shoehorned indeed, as the last two spark plugs could now only be removed with a specially made tool. But it did double the output, or triple in case of the racing versions built for Le Mans. In an advertisement Shelby himself was quoted: “It's one of the hottest, fastest machines I've ever driven. You just don't start it, you unleash it!” That may be PR talk but it remains strange that Cobras have reached near legendary status while Tigers can still be picked up for under 30,000 GBP. Even a gorgeous ex-works rally car is estimated to sell for under 100.000 GBP this May. Isn’t it about time, after 50 years, that the Tiger gets its recognition?

(Text: Jeroen Booij)

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