1983 Talbot Sunbeam Lotus 'Avon Limited Edition'

The Talbot Sunbeam Lotus was one of the most exciting hot-hatches to emerge from the 1970s. Chrysler commissioned Lotus to produce an effective entrant for international 'Group 4' rallying, to beat the dominant Ford Escort RSs at their own game. Lotus took a 1.6 GLS shell and installed a 2.2-litre (Type 911 and closely related to the Type 912 found in the S2 and S3 Esprits) version of their 16-valve four-cylinder engine and a 5-speed ZF gearbox. The new Sunbeam Lotus certainly looked the part - initially offered only in black and silver, with Marchal spotlights and tailored double 4-spoke cast-alloy wheels.

Launched in 1979, the high compression 2,174cc Twin-Cam engine breathed through two twin-choke Dell'Orto carburettors, developed 150bhp (but was easily tuneable to well over 200bhp for rally use) and delivered excellent performance, being rear-wheel drive and weighing only 960kgs, giving a 0-60mph time of just 6.6 seconds. Lotus wasn't just an engine supplier, it was also involved in designing the suspension and exhaust system.

As soon as it qualified for inclusion in international rally competition, the Sunbeam-Lotus proved extremely effective, finishing first, third and fourth at the 1980 Lombard-RAC rally, Britain's round of the World Rally Championship. In 1981, the Sunbeam Lotus brought the entire manufacturer's championship to Talbot.

The production process was convoluted and apparently every car made a loss so in early 1982, with only 1,184 right-hand drive examples having been sold, production was discontinued. A number of cars were left unsold and there were interested commercial buyers for the remaining stock, however the best known was probably the Ladbroke Avon Coachworks concern who took 56 of them with the intention of offering a specially trimmed limited edition, individually numbered, at a price which was actually lower than the quoted final retail figure for the basic car!

The Avon cars were repainted in pale blue, complemented by double bands of deep metallic blue running the full length of the car. The bumpers and front spoiler were finished to match, while the normally black grille was 'colour keyed' in pale blue. Adding to the exclusive luxury aura, a full length vinyl roof was an option in contrasting blue, plus a Britax tinted, tilting sunroof. Red coach lines ran above and below the side stripes and the exterior appearance was set off by a pair of original yellow and green Lotus badges. Inside, the Avon Sunbeam Lotus had also been improved considerably, the standard trim replaced and the car fully soundproofed. The interior was then retrimmed with high quality blue carpet, contrasting blue velour and leatherette trim with red piping on the seats, padded door caps and a specially trimmed console.

The superbly presented Avon Sunbeam Lotus on offer today will be familiar to Bangers and Cash viewers from Series 2 Episode 4, however probably recognisable only by its registration number.

Originally registered on 1st March 1983 to a purchaser in East Moseley, XPK 9Y was enjoyed by two further owners before being purchased in 1986 from Wales by the owner prior to our vendor. A farmer in Yorkshire, he used the Avon for a few years covering about 14,000 miles before a fuel pump failure meant that he parked it in a corner of his mother’s farm yard awaiting repair but never drove the car again! However, he did have the foresight to purchase what was likely to have been the only surviving Talbot Sunbeam Lotus bodyshell as part of a job lot in 1989 and that was safely stored in an outhouse where it remained hidden away, protected from the elements, until removed in late 2019 by Dave from Mathewsons along with the, somewhat perforated, XPK 9Y.

Shortly after his purchase in 2019, our vendor completely stripped XPK and set aside everything, before what remained of the shell was scrapped. All the items that were removed from the original shell were examined, cleaned, painted, lubricated, refitted, restored or replaced, with a focus on maintaining originality as our vendor's intention was to replicate the car as it was originally delivered to its first owner as an unmodified standard road car.

One of only 56 Avon examples built this is a rare car, however, its rarity was enhanced when it was established that the 'new' shell was one of the last few shells delivered to Skip Brown Cars in Cheshire after the factory ran out of 3-door Lotus Sunbeam bodyshells. The parts department delivered a number of standard shells to Skip Brown who carried out c.34 modifications to enable them to be finished as Avon cars. After initial preparation, the shell was finished in Moonstone Blue Metallic and Deep Blue Metallic, a process that was helped by having reference panels originally painted by Avon Coachworks ensuring an accurate colour match. A coating of Waxoyl completed the process, before reassembly. The vinyl roof is as on the original Avon, stitching running parallel with the roof line and material continuing down the 'A posts' as a one piece and to further complete originality, a coach painter applied the red coach lines, Avon-allocated build number and 'Avon' graphics.