After the success of the Shelby Cobra, British manufacturers looked for other sports cars that could handle a V-8 transplant. The Sunbeam Alpine seemed like a good candidate; it had been launched by the Rootes Group in 1959 to compete with the MGA, Austin-Healey, and Triumph TR3. Norman Garrad, who headed the Rootes Competition Department, had been urged by Formula 1 World Champion Jack Brabham to develop a Sunbeam Cobra. His son, Ian, an executive with the company in California, tasked Carroll Shelby with converting an Alpine.

Rootes built 6,498 Tigers in both left- and right-hand drive from 1965 to 1966, with many of them featuring the Alpine’s hardtop. After Lord Rootes died, Chrysler bought into the Rootes Group, and not surprisingly, they did not want to sell a car with a Ford engine. This proved to be unfortunate for the Tiger Mark II. It was fast, with 210 horsepower from the 289-cubic-inch Ford engine, but it proved short-lived, as Chrysler ceased the program in 1967 after only 536 Mark IIs (including two prototypes) were ultimately built.

In March of 1967 this Sunbeam Tiger Mk II was sold new by J. Sargent Ltd. in Raleigh, North Carolina to Chuck Crouse. In 1974 Mr. Crouse traded the Tiger in at Leith Lincoln Mercury in Raleigh, North Carolina. It was subsequently purchased by John Felicione. Under Mr. Felicione’s ownership the car was pictured for a Shelby club magazine in 1978; at that time alloy wheels had been added, as well as a black hood scoop. Mr. Felicione then sold the car to Dan Boult. Under Mr. Boult’s ownership the Tiger benefitted from a frame-off restoration in 1990 by marque expert Scott Woerth of Christiana, Pennsylvania. Upon completion the car was stored until 1997, when Mr. Boult sold the Tiger to Lee Padilla of Laughlin, Nevada. Mr. Padilla would also go onto store the car for 13 years before it joined the Craig Brody Collection.

In August of 2014 it was acquired by current ownership. Today the Tiger is finished in Carnival Red with white accent stripes. It includes both a hardtop and soft convertible top, and it rides on 16-inch Panasport Racing wheels wrapped in Bridgestone Potenza tires. The car is powered by Ford’s legendary 289-cubic-inch V-8 engine backed by a four-speed manual gearbox. The interior is trimmed in black, and it features a wood-rimmed steering wheel and a beautiful wood dashboard housing Jaeger instrumentation. It is offered with a tool roll, jack, and original 13-inch wheels and hubcaps.