Talbot Sunbeam Ti.
Compared to many cars featured in the image archive section of the site, this Talbot Sunbeam Ti is a modern upstart, but time rolls on and cars of the 1970s and 1980s are now frequent sights at classic car shows. The Talbot Sunbeam shown here is just such a machine, although it is made more interesting by being a perky 'Ti' version, and is shown at Brands Hatch in the Shell Super Oil livery.
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Development work on the (Chrysler) Talbot Sunbeam range started early in 1976, in an attempt to restore sales to the flagging Talbot brand in the UK. On the surface the new Sunbeam looked quite similar to the later fwd Talbot Horizon, but the rwd Sunbeam was quite different. The following year the Sunbeam made it's motor show debut, sporting a plain and inoffensive-looking two-box design, with an opening rear hatch. Pulses hardly raced, but it was at least a clean and fresh look. Buyers could opt for a basic LS model, a slightly improved GL, or the top-ranking GLS. In 1979 the Sunbeam Talbot Ti was launched, taking over the mantle of, and using the engine from, the previous 'hot' car in the Chrysler range, namely the Avenger Tiger. The rearwheel drive platform of the Talbot lent itself to a bit of tuning, and the Ti (and later the properly-rapid Lotus version) made good use of it. Whereas the plodding versions were little more than supermarket trolleys with seating for four, the Ti was a rally car for the road, noisy and fun and short on creature comforts.
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A friend of mine remembers going on a track day at Brands Hatch and driving one of the Shell-liveried Sunbeam Tis like the car shown above, I also believe that grids of these Sunbeams raced from time to time. Shell logos appear all over the car, including the headlights, with a small "Brands Hatch Racing" logo on the rear quarter panel. Judging by the state of this car's alloy wheels, it had seen plenty of heavy braking into corners such as Druids and down into Graham Hill bend. Did any survive, or did they all end up buried in the Brands' armco?
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