1929 Sunbeam 20.9hp Coachbuilt Saloon
No Reserve

Registration No: TO 9206
Chassis No: 2125K
MOT: Exempt

• Presented in remarkably solid 'garage find' condition having been laid up since the early 1990s
• Converted to conventional pedal layout by previous owner for ease of driving
• Retained on its original registration number
• In long term ownership since the early 1990's and now offered as part of a deceased estate

The 1920s witnessed Sunbeam win the French and Spanish Grand Prixs, finish second at Le Mans, set numerous Land Speed Records and cause Henry Royce consternation regarding the quality and refinement of its products. Introduced in 1926, the Twenty (20.9hp) was powered by a 2916cc OHV straight-six engine allied to four-speed manual transmission. Reputedly capable of over 70mph (coachwork permitting), the newcomer shared numerous drivetrain components with its glamorous 3-Litre Super Sports sibling. Available in Tourer, Fixed Head Coupe, Folding Head Coupe, Coachbuilt Saloon, Weymann Saloon and Rally Weymann Saloon guises, some 2,560 20.9hp cars are thought to have been made before the model was revised for 1931. Though, today survivors are comparatively few and far between.

First registered on the 31st January 1929, 'TO 9206' was built as a Coachbuilt Saloon with in-house bodywork by Sunbeam complete with a Divider. Little is known about the early life of the car, but an accompanying letter dated March 2012 within the history file from the son of one of the previous owners suggests that the first owner may have been a Mr Percy Read. What the letter does tell us however is that Mr A A Attwood (the writer's father) of Whitegates, Takeley, who was a motor engineer pre-war and worked as a toolmaker in a munitions factory during the war years, purchased the car in 1942 for the princely sum of £80 from Reads Garage of Takeley and used the car for trips to work during the war years and then spent most of his weekends overhauling the car. Mr Attwood's son fondly remembered his father fitting the folding bench seat to the partition and taking his children out on trips whenever petrol rationing would allow. Mr Attwood owned the car until 1968 when he sold it, two years prior to his passing. After passing through the hands of more dedicated enthusiasts, 'TO 9206' was then sold via RTS Auctions in Norwich to Mr Bird, the most recent owner, in November 1992. Mr Bird's widow recalled that Mr Bird used the car sparingly before laying the car up in the heated garage of the family home in 1993 with the intent to overhaul it as timed passed. Unfortunately, Mr Bird's passing in 2016 meant that this never came to fruition and the car remained up on the blocks that it had been jacked onto until H&H were asked to step in to sell the car.

Upon removal of the car from its hiding place of over thirty years, we were pleased to find a remarkably solid car whereby most of the bodywork appears to be rust free, with the wooden frame also appearing to be in fine order for the age. The car rolled freely on its own wheels out of the garage and the engine turns over on the crank handle - please note we have not tried to start it so the car is offered in non-running condition.

Now to be sold strictly as viewed on a 'No Reserve' basis, this excellent example of the now largely forgotten Sunbeam marque is surely worth the efforts of any enthusiast or collector; offering a rewarding project that can be sympathetically recommissioned or subject to full restoration.

For more information, please contact:
Lucas Gomersall
lucas.gomersall@handh.co.uk
07484 082430