Tom Bishop traveled to England to purchase this 1954 Sunbeam-Alpine Sports Roadster. It was in nearly perfect shape, which is hard to find in an Alpine, given that only 1,582 cars were built during a two-year period.
Jim Krumel | For The Lima News
BLUFFTON – Movie buffs who attended the Bluffton Festival of Wheels in June were treated to a piece of film history.
Among the cars on display was a 1954 Sunbeam-Alpine Sports Roadster, owned by Trischa and Tom Bishop of Westerville, Ohio.
It was the same model of car that was featured in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1955 thriller, “To Catch a Thief,” starring Grace Kelly and Cary Grant. Kelly met Prince Rainier while the movie was being shot in Monaco. They married a year after filming, thus she became Princess Grace. Ironically, Grace Kelly died in a 1982 car crash at a scene where that movie was shot.
The Bishops looked for five years to buy an Alpine, but couldn’t find one in good condition. The search ended when Tom learned of a car in England and traveled overseas to take a look.
“The car was in immaculate shape,” Tom said. “I met the original owner’s son who had a book of receipts containing everything that was ever done to the car. It had been in that same family since 1954. I couldn’t have asked for more.”
Getting the car shipped to the United States was a learning experience.
“Fortunately, we were working through a classic car dealer which took care of all the arrangements for shipping,” Tom said.
However, once in the the U.S., the car sat on the docks.
“Moving through customs was slow until a few people had their hands greased,” Trischa said.
What made a high-quality Alpine so hard to find was the fact that it was only built for 24 months. It was produced from mid-1953 to mid-1955 to compete with Chevrolet’s Corvette and Ford’s Thunderbird. However, North American sales never reached the desired results and production was discontinued.
Only 1,582 cars were built during that two-year production period, with just 200 cars remaining in existence today, according to the Sunbeam National Registry.
The Bishop’s car features the original 2.267 cc in-line four cylinder engine. Its top speed is 90 miles per hour and it will reach zero to 60 mph in 14.8 seconds. While that’s rather ordinary for a four-cylinder engine, the car’s luxurious styling – inside and out – make up for that as evidenced in the movie.
Both Tom and Trischa remarked about the smooth ride. With it being a car from Europe, the steering wheel is located on the right side, which takes some getting used to, Tom said.
Trischa especially likes the bigger trunk, which she said is handy when she goes shopping.
She noted, “We had an MG before this. It was a fun car, but you couldn’t fit a toothbrush in the trunk of it.”
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