The Sunbeam Tiger is sometimes unkindly desribed as the poor mans`s Cobra. Based on the Rootes group`s succesful Sunbeam Alpine convertable ,the Tiger had a stiffened chassis to take the Ford 260ci V8 engine,the same as early Cobras.
over 7000 were built from 1964 to 86 ,the last few hundred with the Mustang 289ci engine.
The works department made a handful of competition versions, 3 coupes for LeMans 1964 and one of the 5 rally cars with hardtop was bought by Mike Coombes in 1965 and began a new life as a circuit racer. Bernard Unett raced another one for Alan Fraser and another 'AHP483B' won its class on the 1965 Targa Florio. By 1970 the ex-Coombe car ' AHP295B' became a Modsport regular in the hands of Malcolm Sears.
Malcolm Sears in the Sunbeam Tiger AHP 295B in its final form in the summer of 1971 with its wide tires now housed in proper wide arches rumbling through a bend in aniother Modsport race.
REG : `AHP 295B`
ENGINE : FORD V8 cylinder 4727cc
MODSPORT CAREER : June 1970 -Sep 1971
KNOWN MODSPORTS RACES : 20
CLASS WINS : 9
OVERALL WINS : 2
HONOURS : Class winner 1971 MCD 'STP' Modsports championship
DRIVER : MALCOLM SEARS
( b.Hackney 1940 )
OCCUPATION : Transport Manager and part time racer
PREVIOUS OWNER : Mike Coombe
( 1965-1969 )
Malcolm Sears went from just another 60's club racer to being part of the cult film 'Le Mans' with Steve McQueen . The Truck driver from Hackney started out in 1962 Hillclimbing his Standard Vanguard. For 1963 Sears had 4 circuit races ,sprints in a Jaguar saloon then a Jaguar XK140 for 1964. Staying in sports cars he then raced a Sunbeam Alpine ,26 races in 1966 ( inc. 16 'Amasco' rounds ) and 26 finishes from 28 races in 1967.
Having become the Garage manager of the Apex Rubber Co too it enabled Sears to race more and prep his cars better. Having sold the Alpine in Nov 1967 he bought the 1961 Sprinzel Sebring Sprite '200 PMO' ( raced by Stirling Moss at Sebring and rallied by Spinzel himself and Paul Hawkins ). Rebuilt and painted red it proved unreliable finishing only 12 of 26 races during 1968/69. Malcolm became good pals with top flight all round racer Hawkins amongst others sports car drivers and was devastated when 'Hawkeye' was killed at Oulton Park in 1969. By 1971 Sears the Tiger-racer was asked by David Piper to be one of the drivers in Steve McQueen's 'Le Mans' film ,he fitted in so well he was the one asked to remote crash the Ferrari 512 ! Hear Malcolm's recolections of this adventure via this link :
Above : Two great photos of Malcolm Sears handling the Tiger out the hairpin at Mallory Park ,one of the best spectator spots for motor sport probably anywhere in the world.
Left- taken on June 28th 1970 at the MCD Modsport round where Sears was caught up in John Sabourin`s spin at the same spot which both cars retired from.
Below -unidentified date in 1970 this time Sears holds a lurid powerslide out of the hairpin as he puts the V8s power down. My thanks to Ray Green for these 2 photographs
Motorsport Historian Doug Nye summed up the incident and aftermath in his 2008 article 'The Tiger That Kept Roaring' :
"Sadly, on September 18, 1971, after a very successful season, Malcolm left the road at Old Hall Corner, Oulton Park, and his GT40-engined Tiger slammed into the sleeper-faced outside bank. Having originated as a European rally car, ‘295B’ was left-hand drive, and as its engine and left-front wheel were smashed back into the cockpit, and the wreck caught fire, Malcolm Sears was savagely injured. He lost an eye and lay in a coma for three months, followed by nine years in hospital. He emerged brain-damaged but slowly regained capability and has survived to this day. The Tiger’s crushed and burned hulk was retrieved from Oulton Park, and lay rusting beneath a tarpaulin in Essex for several months, before being hauled out by Malcolm’s brother and trailed to oblivion in Jones’s scrapyard in Delamare Road, Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire; a very final resting place for this rare breed’s only international rally winner."
" I thought I was the only one who remembered that V8 Tiger and its intrepid driver, whom I always think of with great affection as he was a very decent guy. "
- Dave Brodie
Click link to listen to Malcolm Sears recall his work in the filming of Le Mans with Steve McQueen in his interview of November 2017 by Avery Healthcare :
Click link to read Dave Brodie`s recollections of the friendly rivalry between the two Modsport racers : 'Forgotten Hero Remembered' :
DATE CAR NO. | CIRCUIT | RACE | RESULT |
JUN 7th | BRANDS HATCH | London MC Modsport race | 4th? overall ( 1st in class ) |
JUN 28th #153 | MALLORY PARK | MCD STP Modsports | DNF |
JUL 26th | BRANDS HATCH | Sevenoaks Modsport race | 4th overall ( 2nd in class ) |
AUG 16th | BRANDS HATCH | MCD STP Modsports | raced |
OCT 18th | MONDELLO PARK | Dublin Uni MC Handicap race | 3rd overall on handicap |
OCT 25th | BRANDS HATCH | BRSCC Modsports race | 7th overall ( 2nd in class ) |
DATE CAR NO. | CIRCUIT | RACE | RESULT |
MAR 28th | MALLORY PARK | MCD STP Modsports R2 | 6th overall ( 1st in class ) |
APR 14th #83 | MALLORY PARK | MCD STP Modsports R4 | 3rd overall ( 1st in class ) |
MAY 31st #65? | MALLORY PARK | MCD STP Modsports R7 | 3rd overall ( 2nd in class ) |
JUN 12th | BRANDS HATCH | Mini7club Modsport race | 5th? overall ( 1st in class ) |
JUN 18th | CRYSTAL PALACE | BARC 'Trumps Moto Pop' race | 6th overall ( 2nd in class ) |
JUL 10th | CASTLE COMBE | MCD STP Modsports R10 | DNF overheating |
JUL 11th | MALLORY PARK | Coventry + Warwicks MC | 1st overall ( 1st in class ) |
JUL 25th | BRANDS HATCH | MCD STP Modsports R11 | 4th overall ( 1st in class ) |
AUG 8th | MALLORY PARK | BRSCC-M Modsport race | 3rd overall ( 1st in class ) |
AUG 15th | MALLORY PARK | MCD STP Modsports R12 | 3rd overall ( 2nd in class ) |
AUG 28th | OULTON PARK | MCD STP Modsports R13 | 3rd overall ( 1st in class ) |
AUG 29th | MALLORY PARK | BRSCC-M Modsport race | 1st overall ( 1st in class ) |
SEP 18th #111 | OULTON PARK | MCD STP Modsports R14 | DNF crash |
At the time of his crash on September 18th Malcolm was leading the 'big' capacity class of the MCD Modsports Championship with 66 points to next man Peter Archer's 33 and clear favourite to win. The remaining 6 rounds with Malcolm hospitalised saw another E-Type racer James Mehew close the gap coming into the finale at Brands to 9 points . His 12 points gained for the class win took him above Malcolm in the championship. Brian Hough piped Jon Fltcher for overall honours .
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