Stu, et al
I think Rootes may have something to do with the confusion.
Starting with the 1964 New York International Auto Show held April 4-12, the
official show catalogue listed the U.S.A premiere of the
'Sunbeam Alpine 260' with a picture of what looks like an Alpine GT in white
(i.e. small hubcaps, no trim rings, no side mouldings, and I couldn't verify
the side script even with a magnifiing glass. Presumably, the printing of the
catalogue was completed maybe a month before, when some of the details of the
Tiger were still undecided. The pictures supposedly from the actual 1964 show
feature a stock looking Tiger 1 with what look like American Racing Equipment
alloy wheels.
I can't find the exact reference in print, but I remember reading somewhere
that Leyland in the UK marketed a bus with the Tiger model name, and wouldn't
relinquish it to Rootes.
The very early sales folders (the white-blue-black versions)for the UK and
Europe
called it the Sunbeam Alpine 260, the later versions with the red roadster
against
a black background for the home market called it the Tiger, the 1A sales folders
for the Continent with a Med Blue car on the cover referred to it as the Sunbeam
Alpine V8. When the Mark II sales folder was issued for Continent markets, the
folder featured a retouched illustration reflecting the visual changes to the
Mark 2, and it was renamed the Sunbeam Alpine V8 MK II. You can catch a picture
of the European 1A sales folder on the back of the Book of Norman slip cover.
I recall a similar problem with selling the 1965-66 Mustang in Europe. Someone
else owned the Mustang name rights over there, and for a while it was named
the T-5 (Ford's project name for that Mustang, I learned).
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