1981 | Talbot Sunbeam Lotus

The Talbot Sunbeam Lotus was one of the most exciting hot-hatches to emerge from the 1970s. Chrysler commissioned Lotus to produce an effective entrant for international 'Group 4' rallying, to beat the dominant Ford Escort RSs at their own game. Lotus took a 1.6 GLS shell and installed a 2.2 litre (Type 911 and closely related to the Type 912 found in the S2 and S3 Esprits) version of their 16-valve four-cylinder engine and a five-speed ZF gearbox. The new Sunbeam Lotus certainly looked the part, initially offered only in black and silver, with Marchal spotlights and tailored 'double four-spoke' cast-alloy wheels. Launched in 1979, the high-compression 2,174cc twin-cam engine breathed through two twin-choke Dell'Orto carburettors, developed 150bhp and delivered excellent performance, being rear-wheel drive and weighing only 960kg, giving a 0-60mph time of just 6.6 seconds. Lotus wasn't just an engine supplier, it was also involved in designing the suspension and exhaust system. As soon as it qualified for inclusion in international rally competition, the Sunbeam Lotus proved extremely effective, finishing first, third and fourth at the 1980 Lombard-RAC Rally, Britain's round of the World Rally Championship. In 1981, the Sunbeam Lotus brought the entire manufacturer's championship to Talbot. Only 1,184 right hand drive examples of the Sunbeam Lotus were ever built. However, today you'd be lucky to find 80 of these special cars according to the owner's club.

The vendor, a lifelong Sunbeam fan, has steadily built up an impressive collection of these fantastic little cars. However, having owned several standard road cars, he felt the need for something more. Tolman Motorsport, the high-level Motorsport and preparation company who are the official GT drivers' development programme partners to McLaren can boast a quality of work superior to most. Chris Tolman, owner of Tolman Motorsport and another lifelong Sunbeam fan grew up with these cars and who worked himself for both Prodrive and Ralliart before starting his own company. A conversation with the vendor at the racetrack revealed the two shared this love for the Sunbeam. The conversation quickly led to the idea of building a 'non-invasive' recreation homage to the original rally cars, but as if they had had access to the technology available in the present day. A donor car was quickly sourced, stripped and built into a Group 2 specification bodyshell. Metal work repairs were carried out in superior 4130 steel, and as per period, aluminium wheel arches and bonnet were fitted. An FIA specification roll cage was also fitted. In terms of mechanicals, the car reads as a dream list consisting of the engine being rebuilt by the chap who built the factory competition engines in period, then given the modern treatment of twin injector and drive by wire individual throttle bodies. All of this is controlled by a custom Motec M150 management system with switchable engine maps making this an advanced track weapon producing 265bhp, now producing more power than the period works cars and weighs a mere 958kg. The electronics for the car alone cost £20,000 and include both launch and traction control. The pedal box is an adjustable AP Racing unit costing £10,000 and the brakes are also AP Racing all round. The pneumatically-operated sequential gearbox is operated both by gear lever and steering wheel-mounted paddles, coming in at another £10,000. Nitron three-way adjustable dampers control the handling and everything on the car is fitted without alterations to the mounting points or cutting holes in the bodyshell, making the car, should you want to, completely reversable to standard form. Carbon fibre-backed bucket seats, colour-coded stitching and digital dashboard also complement this astonishing build. The whole car was dry built before being painted to ensure no alterations needed to be done after. To say this is the ultimate Sunbeam is no exaggeration.

The car drives as you would expect it to; a fully sorted and lively Group 2 car, but essentially a GT3 car in terms of specification. Not a car for the light-hearted and a jewel to behold, even while parked. This amazing build, whilst not a cheap car to build costing north of £200,000, is good value considering the expertise that went into it, especially when considering the comparable Cyan Racing's P1800 restomod comes in at £450,000! Consigned by Will Penrose

Lot details
Year: 1981
Make: Talbot
Model: Sunbeam Lotus 'Tolman Special'
Registration: BDM 401W
Chassis No: T4DCYBL412643
Odometer: tba


* Ultimate Sunbeam build

* Built by Tolman Motorsports

* In excess of £200,000 to build