Sunbeam-Talbot Ten DHC.
A number of original photographs of pre-war Talbot 10s and Sunbeam-Talbot 10s already exist on OCC, for example this c1938 Talbot 10 tourer, while a selection of pictures all featuring slightly later Sunbeam-Talbot 10 saloons may be found on this page.
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While the tourer offered open-top motoring to the Sunbeam-Talbot aficionado, the somewhat swisher Drop-Head Coupe, or DHC, offered similar driving experiences in a more upmarket form. The photograph below, provided by Walter via Facebook in 2015, features a London-registered Sunbeam-Talbot that - according to its registration ELY 28 - first hit the road in December 1937. With its proper folding roof, chrome hood irons, wind-up windows (as opposed to the tourer's clip-in sidescreens) and full-width wheel discs, it cuts quite a dash I reckon. A number of other pre-war cars are also in view, the nearest being a Series II Morris Eight saloon.
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Nigel's 1946 DHC.
Nigel Bruen has provided a number of photographs over the last few years, that have made it into this section of the site. Next, a shot of a post-war Drophead Coupe he owned in the 1960s, reg. KPL 314. Of the car, he recalls the following:
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"The 1946 (two days older than me) Sunbeam Talbot drop-head coupe that I used to marshal on the 1966 RAC Rally. The two large spotlights are Simms commercials, very good for long distance illumination. We were stationed on the Devil's Bridge special stage in North Wales, and able to witness such luminaries as Barrie Williams, Pat Moss-Carlsson, Tom Trana, Graham Hill, Paddy Hopkirk and, fastest of all, Jim Clark thundering past us. Surely one of the very finest of all rallying occasions ever."
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| "Sadly, on the way back, the Sunbeam threw a rod on a particularly vicious hairpin. However I was able to get her home by devious means, and replaced the engine with a Hillman unit for the interim. Then, as luck would have it, Sunbeams were in the process of closing down and selling off old stock. So two brand new engines were purchased from them and one fitted (one spare) before she was sold on - I having to go abroad to work at the time. But she was a great car and we did have a lot of fun together."
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Many thanks for the two photos gents.
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Practical Motorist magazine, July 23rd 1938.
A 1938 copy of Practical Motorist features a similar car on its cover, referred to as the Foursome Coupe. Despite this, there isn't a mention of the DHC in this issue, although there is a reference to the Lancashire police force taking delivery of four examples of "Ten" Sports Tourer, registered DTC 52, DTC 53, DTC 54 and DTC 55.
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Return to Page 19 in the photographic archive, or visit the main index here.
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