The British-built two-seat sport car of the sixties Sunbeam Alpine Series I, II, III, IV and V appears in a number of blockbusters. For example in 1962’s Dr No where Sean Connery drives it under a truck to avoid his pursuers. It seems that this is the most Notable starring role of this car in the movies.
And here is other well-known films and popular TV series in which you can also see Sunbeam Alpine Series I to V.
• A red Series I Sunbeam Alpine car is driven by Elizabeth Taylor in the Butterfield 8 (1960) and features in a number of scenes of this film.
• A white Series 1 Sunbeam Alpine was the regular drive of Rod Taylor’s character Glenn Evans, a crime fighting news reporter, in the early 1960s TV series, Hong Kong.
• A lake blue Series II Sunbeam Alpine roadster is amongst the first on-screen cars driven by James Bond, when it is rented and driven by James Bond in Dr. No of 1962, a most notably in a scene where Bond drives this car under a truck to escape from pursuing hit men. It was reportedly borrowed from a local resident, as the only suitable sports car available on the island used for filming.
• Michael Caine’s character is rescued by a woman in a white 1968 Alpine roadster in the 1971 British crime movie Get Carter. The car is later shunted into a dock with the owner locked in the boot.
• The V8 muscle version of the Sunbeam Alpine called Sunbeam Tiger was also the vehicle of choice for spy Maxwell Smart in the famous 1960s TV comedy series Get Smart. An Alpine, outfitted to look like the Tiger, was used for the “gadget” shots, such as the cannon that comes up through the bonnet. The Sunbeam Alpine was used because the cannon would not fit under the bonnet of a V-8 car. The car was modified by noted American customizer Gene Winfield and was the subject of a 1/25th scale plastic model kit.
• A Sunbeam Alpine was driven by Imogen Stubbs in the 1990s British TV series Anna Lee.
• A Sunbeam Alpine is driven by Michael Caine in the 1967 film «Gambit». The film also starred Shirley MacLaine and Herbert Lom.
• A powder blue 1967 Sunbeam Alpine is driven by Tuesday Weld and Anthony Perkins in the 1968 film «Pretty Poison».
• In the TV series «Heartbeat», the character of Jackie Bradley, portrayed by Fiona Dolman, drives a green hardtop Series V Sunbeam Alpine, with red interior, bearing the original registration plate LVY 666F (1967). In Series 11, episode 12, Closing the Book two characters arrive at Scripp’s Garage in a gold, hardtop Sunbeam Alpine, bearing the registration plate 836 FXH.
• Red Sunbeam Alpine is seen in the Arnold Schwarzenegger film «Commando», where it was destroyed. In this film Arnold Schwarzeneggers co-star Rae Dawn Chong drives a 1964 Sunbeam Alpine Series IV until Schwarzenegger takes over for a major car-chase with a 1969 Porsche 911 Targa, ending with the Sunbeam’s destruction. As the 7th highest grossing film of 1985, Commando has to be the marque’s greatest media exposure.
