Introduced in
1964, its soul was a V-eight version
of the four-cylinder Sunbeam Alpine whose attractive open
body dated from
1959.
American Caroll Shelby, (perhaps more famous for the AC
Cobra) carried out the primary engineering, but all successive
work was done by the parent company Rootes.
This much bigger engine required widespread re-engineering,
rather than choke up the high volume Alpine production
lines with the new car, Rootes subcontracted the job to
Jensen.
The car is most noted for its appearance in the opening
scenes of the NBC TV Comedy series "Get Smart"
(
1965 -
1970). Agent 86, Maxwell Smart (aka Don Adams)
drove a red Sunbeam Tiger model CFB600 containing 'Control'
enhancements such as a cigarette lighter that was really
a grenade, an ejector seat, an exhaust pipe machine
gun, a tail pipe oil slick device and two 50-caliber
machine guns concealed in the hood - amongst others.
For the trivia buffs, Max changed cars during the second
season (
1966) to a blue Karman Ghia convertible, and then
for the fifth season (
1969) Max drove a gold 1969 Opel
GT sports car. On a few occasions, Max drove a white Mustang
convertible.
