Car Parts 2011

Here's my New Years resolution, throughout the year I intend to post 52 old, funky, odd cars that I love. These won't be your Gullwing Mercedes, racing Ferrari, or generic Corvette but rather the odd ball, long forgotten, and sometimes failed vehicles that have just enough quirks to peak my interests.

This particular car is exactly the type of car I'm looking for. Its an easy one to forget, just less than 70,000 examples were made from 1959 to 1968. It's an odd car, in particular the Tiger version. Who would have thought to shoehorn an American V8 into a little British car? The poor man's Cobra of the day. And while it's not a particularly failed car having such a long run, the parent company Rootes was bought by Chrysler and its days were sadly over.

I was reminded of the Alpine while flipping through the January edition of Automobile magazine where it was featured in a 60's small sports car road trip to Watkins Glen. The aesthetic is good, a little Thunderbird with some 50's fin shrunk into a classic British roadster size. It's not a fast car in its usual non-Tiger form with under 100 hp and topping out just under 100 miles per hour but its not about the speed, its about the style. Just looking at it makes me want to go ride through the countryside. I am particularly partial to the removable hardtops which I feel look much nicer than a typical convertible top. While I don't mind MG's, and Triumphs of the day, I prefer the Sunbeam Alpine, the odd man out...

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