Sunbeam Alpine

This two-seater sports roadster/drophead coupé was produced by the British Rootes Group from 1953 to 1955, and then from 1959 to 1968. The name was then used on a two-door fastback coupé from 1969 to 1975.

The Alpine Mark I and Mark III (no Mark II was made) were hand-built from 1953 to 1955, and remained in production for only two years. Of the 1582 automobiles produced, 961 were exported to the US and Canada, 445 stayed in the UK, and 175 went to other world markets.

A sapphire blue Alpine featured prominently in the 1955 Alfred Hitchcock film To Catch a Thief. A Mk I model also appears in the 1957 British horror film Night of the Demon.

In the 1966 film The Great St. Trinian’s Train Robbery, Flash Harry (George Cole), has a crimson Sunbeam Alpine which he and some sixth-formers use to chase after the train robbers (led by Frankie Howerd).

Michael Caine’s character is rescued by a woman in a white 1968 Alpine roadster in the 1971 British film Get Carter. The car is later shunted into a dock with the owner locked in the boot.

A Sunbeam Tiger (the V8 version of the Alpine) was the vehicle of choice for spy Maxwell Smart in the American 1960s TV comedy series Get Smart.