1983 Talbot Sunbeam Lotus Avon

Although production ceased in 1981, the Talbot Sunbeam Lotus remains an iconic car in rally history and the Avon limited edition versions – this is a genuine one – with their distinctive styling and limited numbers, are highly sought after by collectors today. This car has been owned and cherished by the same enthusiast for the last 30 years.
Despite being restored in 2005 the professional rebuild was done to a very high standard and the car remains in lovely condition to this day. The enthusiast owner has cherished and molly coddled it throughout his ownership, and is only selling it because of health issues in his close family.

This is an uprated Lotus Sunbeam that’s been built to be enjoyed. Extras include:

Fast road uprated suspension

LSD (limited slip differential) back axle

Uprated brakes front and back

Anti-roll bar on the back axle

Roll cage

Minilite type wheels

Oil cooler

Radtec radiator with Spal fan

Electronic SU fuel pump

Engine rebuilt with port and polished head producing 196bhp

Last year the car had a new cam belt and tensioner, and new fuel lines done at Lotus specialists SJ Sportcars in Crediton as part of a full service.

This is a slightly different shade of metallic blue to the original Avon colour, but unless you park it next to another – unlikely as there are precious few left – you’d never know.

The original cars had a vinyl roof, but when the current owner was directing the restoration work, carried out by Retrocar in Stoke-on-Trent, it was agreed that as the bodywork underneath the vinyl was starting to bubble, a new one wouldn’t be fitted, and the roof was finished in metallic blue instead.

A new vinyl roof could be easily fitted, but whether you’d want to cover that excellent paint finish is another matter. The paintwork itself isn’t perfect, but then it is 20 years old and bearing this in mind, it looks great. There is the odd small imperfection here and there – a small area of micro-blistering on the bonnet for instance, but that’s about it.

The deep dish Minilite style alloy wheels suit the car to a tee, and they’re in excellent shape too. All the bumpers and plastic trim parts also look great.

The Avon limited edition cars had a bespoke interior with unique trim, so it’s imperative that any such model has a good interior, or you could be looking at a very large bill to recreate it. No such worries with this Lotus Sunbeam, as its cabin is in superb order.

The blue velour is almost glowing, such is its sheen, all the plastics are undamaged and the dash even has a period stereo still in place. The original steering wheel is in fine condition and the only small defect we could spot is a small mark on the carpet behind the driver’s seat.

The headlining is in good condition and the boot is clean and probably hasn’t seen a lot of Tesco’s bags in its time.

Unlike the earlier Ford-based Elan twin cam, the Lotus slant four borrows its block design from Vauxhall, but the Lotus engine uses all alloy construction. The 911 variant used in this car has a capacity of 2.2-litres and produces the best part of 200bhp thanks to the head work.

As a headline figure this may not sound much, but in a car that weighs a shade over 800kgs it makes for extremely lively performance, even by today’s standards.

It’s coupled to a dog-leg five speed gearbox and the combination allowed the original cars to get to 60mph in about 8 seconds – a bit of a leap from the base model Sunbeam’s 22. In rally trim the engines made a reliable 250bhp.

This engine was rebuilt when the car was restored in 2005 and is still in fine fettle today. With all this grunt, a limited slip diff and uprated brakes and suspension, this is hatch that turns the heat up to 11.

The current owner of the Lotus Sunbeam is only its second, and the car comes with the original bill of sale from Renwicks of Exeter. There is also a large file of notes, invoices and bills covering the extensive rebuild, plus a full maintenance schedule since. The enthusiast owner has reluctantly decided to sell his pride and joy as his wife became ill and his priorities have changed. He says:

‘I love cars that don’t look too sporty but have powerful engines, so early on it was the Lotus Cortina that caught my eye. I was a real rally fan and when the Chrysler team announced the Sunbeam Lotus I went to watch the action anywhere in the UK that the works cars were competing.

‘From then on I had to have one, so I purchased a black and silver model in the mid ‘80s but it was standard spec which made it a right handful in the wet, and I sold it after a couple of years.

‘In 1994 I saw FOD 602Y for sale in Paignton with all the upgrades that most people craved for and I bought it. It was an absolute dream to drive, it handled well, stopped well and sounded amazing. It had so much grunt available it just made me smile to drive it.

‘But in 2018 my wife was diagnosed with cancer and it was a tough time and a lot of re-evaluating went on in the months following, as life is very fragile. My wife is clear now and we want to travel while we can, so I agreed to let the car go.

‘It was a difficult decision but the right one as I’ve had great times driving it and now after 30 years I want someone else to take it on and enjoy it like we have.

‘We’ve done a few track days at Castle Combe and shown the car at Lynton and Lynmouth, along with tours around the West Country with various motor clubs.

‘I had it fully restored in 2004/5 by Retrocars in Stoke on Trent who did an amazing job as we’re 19 years on and it’s still looking rather good, but then we’ve treated her rather specially and she’s been well looked after.

‘On the mechanical side the gearbox is standard but the ZF is great in standard form – the rest has been upgraded. There’s nothing that doesn’t work.

‘It’s the original engine and gearbox, and the car has never had any crash damage – either during my ownership or with the first owner. This is a rarity as these cars were really tail happy in the wet. It was my daily car from 1994 to 2000 and it’s never let me down – she’s been a dream.

‘This car has made me smile many times over the years, and she’s been worth all the money I’ve spent on her. I will miss her.’

A superb example of a limited edition variant Lotus Sunbeam with sensible upgrades to make it even more fun to drive. You’re unlikely to find a better one.

We are happy to offer this car for auction with an estimate in the range of £30,000 - £35,000.

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