Don’t do what I did—passing up on a mint Sunbeam Tiger for $4,000, and a funky but running example for $1,500. Granted, this was some years ago—before values zoomed. Now they’re often $100,000 cars. The 1966 Mark 1a example here is on Craigslist in West Vancouver, BC, Canada, and it’s been sitting, under two owners, for almost 20 years. The asking price is $49,990. Thanks to Pat L. for this listing.

As we all know, Tigers (1964-1967) are English Sunbeam Alpines that—like the legendary Cobra—were massaged by Carroll Shelby with Ford V-8s. The experiment was short-lived, because Chrysler bought full control of the Rootes Group (including Sunbeam) in 1967, and didn’t want products with Ford power.

These first-generation Tigers are the prettiest iterations. The second-generation Mark II, only in 1967 with 633 built, featured the 289 V-8, but also a change in grille design that wasn’t the happiest. This 1a (not an official designation, but Sunbeam fans use it) looks far better than the average restoration project. As the vendor says, it’s “a very rare, ORIGINAL, unmolested Tiger. The real deal, not a clone or an Alger.” The latter is an Alpine that got a V-8 engine transplant, hence “Al-ger.”

The vendor bought the Tiger seven years ago from a retired lawyer in Eugene, Oregon who’d owned it for more than 42 years, and stored it for the last 10 of them. The vendor put it away in 2017, having planned to restore it before “other projects got in the way.”

This is quite an honest presentation. The car has its original 260-cubic-inch V-8 and top loader four-speed, with rebuilds in the 1980s. “Runs great,” we’re told. It has its original black hardtop to contrast with the red paint, plus the original Minilite wheels from 1966. A set of replacement LAT 7 wheels with new tires are also with the car. It has a new top, new upholstery, a new dash, and all working instruments.

The major need is bodywork, plus new carpets. The car looks great in photos and from 30 feet, but there is some fender well corrosion. The car was originally British racing green, as many of them were, but perhaps not a Concours-level repaint in red. Honestly, though, you could drive it like it is, at least for a while. The undercarriage photos look very solid, and Oregon is fairly kind on cars.

The asking price seems reasonable, considering that Hagerty says an example in “good” condition is worth $57,200, and this one could be considered good. Of course, that’s dependent on the extent of the bodywork needs. A “fair” car is $40,200.

Though Tigers have a reputation for being fearsome performers, the stats look kind of tame from 2023. The first-generation Tigers produced 164 horsepower at 4,400 rpm, with a zero to 60 time of 8.6 seconds and a top speed of 120 miles per hour. That’s approximately the same power as my 1993 Saab 900 Turbo convertible. For those who care about such things, the Tiger has been in the Book of Norman  (the international Tiger registry) since that august publication first came out. If owning a Tiger is your dream, this might be the one to jump on.