Albert Parker’s car garage in Nuneaton had been growing for the better part of 40 years before it became a main dealer for the Rootes Group. But the 1965 Sunbeam Tiger Mk I offered here was not destined to be sold on to a passing customer. Instead, it was the magnificent 21st birthday present for Albert’s son, Reg.

Listed in The Book of Norman record of Sunbeam Tiger production, and per a May 2024 certificate issued by the Rootes Archive Centre Trust, chassis number B9472018 HR0FE was ordered with Forest Green paintwork, a Black convertible roof, and Black leather interior before being registered to the A Parker & Son business on 1 April 1965.

As part of the family collection, it shared garage space with significant Vauxhalls and Bentleys—not least the 1929 Bentley 4½-Litre that previously belonged to three-time 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Woolf Barnato. As Albert’s great grandsons Stuart and Andy built up their successful Team Parker Racing concern—entering British GT, the British Touring Car Championship, Porsche Carrera Cup GB and Supercup, British Formula 3, and the GT World Challenge Europe series—ownership of the Sunbeam was transferred within the family to Geoffrey Parker in February 2003. Having taken the car on his honeymoon, he retained possession through to June 2024. The Sunbeam was then bought by the vendor, another prominent name in motorsport who previously enjoyed a Tiger as a daily driver.

In their care, the car has been sensitively recommissioned. Approximately £12,000 was spent (invoices available to view on file) to overhaul the fuel system, service the engine, rebuild the brakes and dampers, in addition to fitting new leaf springs, exhaust, electric fan, plus new wheels and tyres (the originals accompany the sale). The consigning owner also received confirmation from the Parker family that the odometer reading, 20,184 miles at the time of cataloguing, is genuine.

The Tiger is another masterstroke from Carroll Shelby, who repeated his trick with the AC Ace by this time dropping a mighty V-8 engine into the Sunbeam Alpine. Built by Jensen Motors in West Bromwich, with bodies partially painted and trimmed by the Pressed Steel Company of Cowley in Oxford, just 3,752 examples of the Mk I were produced. Few boast such a short chain of devoted owners as chassis B9472018 HR0FE.

More recently the star of a seven-page article in the November 2025 issue of Octane Magazine—having previously featured in The Car’s Whisker’s Sunbeam Tiger Owner’s Club magazine—this Sunbeam Tiger Mk I is set to delight it next owner with open-top summer driving, accompanied by a burbling American soundtrack.