Sunbeam

The Sunbeam Motorcar Company started out as a British manufacturer of bicycles when John Marston  opened the Sunbeam Cycle Factory in 1877. They experimented with some early research and development of motorized vehicles before the turn of the century, and the hard work paid off when they were able to launch their first production car in 1901. They called the car the Sunbeam, and they probably would have found it hard to believe back then that the Sunbeam would be manufactured in some form for the next eight decades.

Sunbeam brought in a designer named Louis Coatalen, and he made a commitment to the internal manufacture of Sunbeam parts. He engineered the Sunbeam 14/20, a vehicle that paved the way with the introduction of a rear axle that was shaft-driven. He was also a firm believer in utilizing racing as a means to draw attention to the brand, and his Sunbeam Nautilus was an innovative speedster. He then followed up with the Sunbeam Tootles II in 1911, a car that set the record at the time for a mile, averaging over 86 MPH.

Sunbeam endured through the war years and went on to continue to produce fine cars under various ownership groups until the 1980s. Classic models include the Sunbeam-Talbot 90, the IMP, the Sunbeam Alpine, and many others crafted over seven decades.