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Sunbeam Venezia Superleggera by Carozzeria Touring
203 of these beautiful four seater coupe's were built by Carozzeria Touring between 1963 and 1965 of which 26 are believed to have survived. Sunbeam had achieved rally success and there was therefore perceived to be the demand in Europe for a stylish, sporting coupe which traded on that race heritage. The performance of the car did not match up to its looks as it was based on Rootes group mechanicals with a 1600cc four pot. There were plans for a V8 version - presumably using a 260 Ford V8 like the Sunbeam Tiger Mark 1. The price was equal to a Jaguar saloon which kept sales low and the project was dogged from the start with industrial unrest and strikes in both England and Italy, plus Rootes was in financial trouble and was eventually bought out by Chrysler. In the 1970's many of the cars were allowed to just rot away as they were virtually worthless, but now following the growth of interest in classic cars the surviving models are highly prized.
To reach the launch venue of Saint Marks Square in Venice in September 1963 the car was transported by Gondola!
203 of these beautiful four seater coupe's were built by Carozzeria Touring between 1963 and 1965 of which 26 are believed to have survived. Sunbeam had achieved rally success and there was therefore perceived to be the demand in Europe for a stylish, sporting coupe which traded on that race heritage. The performance of the car did not match up to its looks as it was based on Rootes group mechanicals with a 1600cc four pot. There were plans for a V8 version - presumably using a 260 Ford V8 like the Sunbeam Tiger Mark 1. The price was equal to a Jaguar saloon which kept sales low and the project was dogged from the start with industrial unrest and strikes in both England and Italy, plus Rootes was in financial trouble and was eventually bought out by Chrysler. In the 1970's many of the cars were allowed to just rot away as they were virtually worthless, but now following the growth of interest in classic cars the surviving models are highly prized.
To reach the launch venue of Saint Marks Square in Venice in September 1963 the car was transported by Gondola!
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