Built from '64 to '67 in just 7,083 units, the Sunbeam Tiger is one of the rarest and most sought after British roadsters ever made. But the Tiger I we're talking about today isn't fitted with the original 260 cubic inch (4.3-liter) Ford-sourced mill, but the Mk II's 289 cubic inch (4.7-liter) V8 modified by the iconic Carroll Shelby.
Coupled to a Ford four-speed stick shift and weighing under 1,170 kilograms (2,579 pounds), the American muscle gave the Tiger a cheeky nickname - the poor man's Shelby Cobra. Considering that the 289 cu. in. Cobra-spec V8 runs a Holley four barrel carburetor and a straight pipe exhaust system is there as well for good measure, the Sunbeam Tiger is a fast, rowdy, rabid wolf in sheep's clothing type of car, so to speak.
The half British, half American roadster isn't alone in Mr. Hans Abrahams' garage. Hans also owns a Canadian-built 1967 Volvo 123 GT, a performance variant of the classic Amazon/122 S. Offered in two-door, four-door sedan and five-door wagon body styles, this model is one of the most revered Volvo nameplates ever made. Powered by the B18 straight-four cam-in-block engine, the dual carburetor version of this mill is fitted with either dual SU or Zenith/Stromberg sidedraft carburetors, translating to at least 115 horsepower.
Last but not least, Mr. Abrahams is also the proud owner of a very loud 1965 MG B. Adorned with black leather bucket seats, black wire wheels, rally-spec lights and a funky color scheme, the 1.8-liter MG sports car incapsulates everything that was great about 1960s motoring in the United Kingdom.
"I never bought my cars as an investment," Hans explains in the video you can watch below. "I don't want to look at them in the garage… I want to remember them for what I did on the road and for the adventures I had."
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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