When the SUNBEAM TIGER was first conceived by Ian Garrad, a survey was made prior To its design, in order to ascertain what the American Sports car fan really wanted.
As a result of this survey, it was felt that basically, by combining a British body, with Its famous reputation for finish and attention to detail; with a well tried American de signed and built engine, which had an excellent power to weight ratio, that perhaps this would fulfill that particular market, that so many people were seeking.
To add to the appeal of this sports car, the cost of such a vehicle was also considered As most important in that, it would provide a True Sports Car with an excellent over-all Performance, at a very moderate price.
Thus the SUNBEAM TIGER was born and today it is unique in that it has fulfilled our Expectations, and is now accepted as a truly exciting car, known for its high performance in its standard version.
In other words – and this is the opinion of many of the better known car magazines – The SUNBEAM TIGER out performs many of the more expensive Sports Cars costing twice the money.
It is indeed a product of two countries, and thereby is made more acceptable that servicing and maintenance offer no problems to the owner. It must also be remembered, that such a Sports Car as the SUNBEAM TIGER, must offer a very docile performance, when used as a street car, by this we mean, it can be driven in down town traffic easily without "big engine fuss", and yet when on the freeway, it can change into "explosive acceleration" and purr along at cruising speeds without noise and apparent effort, at speeds well above the average "big car".
The basic provisioning for high performance options is offered for a variety of reasons, And such options mean different things to different people. High Performance can mean – increased safety factors, which are all important – improved over-all handling, and more important, it allows the individual to tailor his car to met his or her own tastes and needs.
This then, is why we offer such options as listed. All such options have been carefully engineered, and are of the highest quality made to the exacting specifications of our engineers and designers, You can achieve such modifications gradually or all at once, so to speak.
R. G. Wheatley
SUNBEAM TIGER DIVISION
R. G. Wheatley was the head of the Sunbeam Tiger Division of International Automobiles, and was promoting glorious goodies. They were available through his division (and some of the items, as noted herein, through the dealers). They were intended for the discriminating, and performance oriented Tiger owner to achieve "explosive acceleration", at speeds "well above the average "big car". Of course he doesn't hesitate to imply that the car was just about perfect, for most everybody, as it came from the factory. For most of us, this is probably true, but we wouldn't be enthusiasts of the car were it not for it's performance. As everybody also knows, there is no such thing as "enough power". {9-> After the Chrysler takeover, this department was disbanded, and Mr. Wheatley worked for the Traction Master corporation, who was previoiusly selected to manufacture a number of LAT accessories in this Dealer Brochure. He continued to develop and promote Tiger performance accessories, even assigning them unused "LAT" numbers, with a "T" (for Traction Master) suffix. These were quality products, but the inclusion of them as genuine "LAT" options is arguable, even though Chrysler had stopped developing these items, it still sold some. The valve covers, LAT 2/LAT 8, no longer said "Powered by Ford", as an example of the product "improvements" Chrysler made.
Ian Garrad was President of the U.S. importer, International Automobiles Incorporated, in Los Angeles, and was the "spark plug" behind the LAT options and racing program, with his sponsorship of Carroll Shelby's racing efforts with Ken Miles and Lew Spencer. (See Bob Palmer's article "A Breif on Early Tiger Race History" ). He later sponsored Hollywood Sport Cars and Doane Spencer, who helped develop many of the later LAT options. Larry Reed, imported car dealer and Tiger racer, was also a competition test bed for many ideas later released as LAT options.
Editor
See the catalog Cover Page on Page 1.
See the September 15, 1966 page of this catalog by Ian Garrad on Page 2.
See the letter from the head of the Sunbeam Tiger Division, R. G. Wheatley on Page 3, delineating the benefits of purchasing High Performance Options for your Tiger.
See the "IMPORTANT NOTICE" concerning the warranty of your LAT options on Page 4.
See the "CONFIDENTIAL PRICE LIST" on Page 5.
Your Editor
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