To many vintage car enthusiasts, there has only ever been one real Sunbeam company – that which built cars in Wolverhampton before 1936. Sunbeam, thereafter, became an unwilling part of the Rootes Group, and it was not long before new Sunbeam models had lost their pedigree, and were really no more than Hillmans or Humbers in party dress.
The original Sunbeams of 1901 were weird little creations with wheels in a diamond, rather than conventional formation (and with imported De Dion engines), but Sunbeam’s great independent years began in 1909 after the celebrated designer Louis Coatalen joined the company. A range of newly-engineered four-cylinder and six-cylinder types emerged, the 12/16 being such an outstanding car that series production was taken over by Rover during the First World War, to maintain supply for the armed forces.
Sunbeam amalgamated with Talbot and Darracq in 1920 to form the STD combine, and though Coatalen always preferred to design sports, even racing, cars, most touring Sunbeams of the period were cars of great refinement but not outstanding performance. The new generation 12-30 of 1923 was altogether more representative of the genre. Here was a car so typical of the middle class British touring car of the period that the vintage ‘rules of engagement’ might have been written around it. Both this, and the much larger 16-50 were an evolution of the popular 14 chassis (whose roots lay in a Darracq design), which had been in production for some time, though with new engines, and updated body styles. |
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The chassis was simple but robust, with channel-section side members, and pressed cross-bracing members, front and rear suspension was by leaf springs (the rear axle being suspended on full cantilever springs), and the 10-spoke wheels were of what was still known as the ‘artillery’ type. Low-slung by 1920s standards, the frame actually sat well up above the line of the two axles, with the driver sitting atop the frame, not inside the side members. It was still acceptable to fit brakes solely to the rear wheels of this 1.5-litre car, although front brakes became more common as the 1920s progressed.
The engine was a simple, low-revving, rugged overhead-valve four-cylinder unit. It was 1,598 cc instead of the 2,121 cc of the 14 hp model, and was backed by a three-speed transmission, and a gear lever positioned to the outside of the driver’s seat.
As with other vintage cars of the period, two immediate problems faced the 12-30, one being that it was obviously based on a larger type, the other being that it was expensive at £570. Although it was better built, with more individual components than the Bullnose Morris, it was no faster, nor did it have better roadholding. Only about 95 cars were ever built.
Typical of the British touring car of the period, the Sunbeam 12 was an expensive car but its roadholding and speed were no better than those of the ‘Bullnose’ Morris.
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