Sunbeam MK3 (Sunbeam Talbot 90) - the rally car loved by Stirling Moss

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Sunbeam Talbot mk3 (Sunbeam Talbot 90)

Whilst this is a car sold in the mid 50s, the story of the Sunbeam Talbot mk3 begins with the 90 range which was unveiled at the Earls Court Motor Show of 1948. They even featured a cut away model to show how everything worked, which is still in existence and featured in my recent video of the trip to the Isle of Man motor museum.

The 80 was launched alongside the 90, but today’s video focuses solely on the 90. For reference, the 80 was dropped in 1950 to concentrate on the 90, which is why you so rarely hear about them.

The 90 was a car heralding a new dawn for Sunbeam Talbot - the car was for its time - styled in a modern manner and had an overhead valve engine in a world where that was modern thinking some manufacturers wouldn’t catch onto for another decade due to budget and resource constraints.

Although we talk of the new dawn, it is worth mentioning the mechanical bits and pieces for both the 80 and 90 were loosely derived from the Talbot 10 and 2 litre models.

The car when it came to market was marketed as a respectable sports car for the family man, the bank manager with flair or sporting saloon for the motorist with good taste and set up to run as such: by the MK3 as we test here, a 2267cc engine was fitted offering over 90mph as a top speed.

Speaking of motorists with good taste, the Sunbeam Talbot 90, the 2A variant, was favoured by Stirling moss for his rallying pursuits. It was a success from the outset for Stirling and in the first instance, the competition department offered Moss £50 and he came second place in the 1952 Monte Carlo Rally.

Something they got so right with the 90 is that they never rested on success: the MK1 was replaced by the MK2 just two years into production and the engine was whipped up to the 2,267cc engine, the chassis was stiffened with cruciform bracing and the front suspension is then made independent.

It’s worth mentioning these aren’t small changes and they aren’t cheap: there was big investment going into this car by the team at Rootes because they saw a future in it.

More changes appear again two years later in 52, with the 2A coming to market which has the improved steering and larger drum brakes and then in mid 53, you see the final guise: the MK3.

They go at it again power wise and bring in a higher compression cylinder head but then just after launch, drop the Talbot name, hence why this is called the Sunbeam mK3 - not the Sunbeam Talbot 90 MK3. There are some rare examples out there with floor change which might confuse you if you see them at car shows, but they were column as standard and this was a limited run of 30 cars for the floor change.

In 57 the car was brought to a respectable close and replaced by the far more modern looking Sunbeam Rapier. A well thought of classic car, then and now, but again just like the Sunbeam we test today, so rarely spotted.