The project of the British car Sunbeam 3l belongs to the hands of the Frenchman Vincen Bertarion. This engineer was also engaged in the development of an engine with two upper distributions for the race version of the model, which subsequently took a large prize of France. In the spring of 1924, a prototype of a monoblock unit with a dry crankcase and steel liners of cylinders was made. The upper camshafts in such a motor were originally set in motion with a lever-crown mechanism, but later they were replaced with a simple gear drive.
Sunbeam 3l appeared in March 1925. A car that was made in elegant body with light “bicycle” wings and a 3-liter power unit was met by motorists with enthusiasm. The basic version of Sambim was equipped with an open sports body, later Weymann built a closed body for it.
Sunbeam 3l production lasted only a year. During this time, only 30 units of the car were produced. In 1926, Sunbeam E-30/90 came to replace the model, followed by a new series “F” with a modernized cylinder block and an enhanced frame. Since Sunbeam cars were quite expensive, their sales went too slowly. The state of affairs was complicated on the eve of the economic crisis of 1928-1930, when the manufacturer managed to sell only 10 cars.
Photo by Sunbeam 3l
