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Sunbeam Rapier H120
Engine: 5700cc V8
Configuration: front engine, rear-wheel drive
Drivers: Martin Kent and Peter Taylor
Class: Special Saloons over 2500 and Super Saloons
Date taken: April 1976 at Chicane, Croft
Martin Kent rolled his Gordon Keeble in his first circuit race; the result was a totaled body but intact chassis. The unusual choice of a Sunbeam Rapier was dictated by it being dimensionally similar to the Gordon Keeble chassis. Said chassis was lightened by 112 pounds (51kg) and modified to suit the new de Dion rear suspension with 4 radius arms and Watts linkage. The 5.7 litre engine fed its power through an 11ins (28cms) Weber clutch to a 4-speed Muncie gearbox with a Chevrolet shifter. The photograph shows a later owner, Peter Taylor, driving the car some 6 years after it was built.
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Sunbeam Stiletto
Engine: 1940cc FVC
Configuration: rear engine, rear-wheel drive
Driver: Rob Mason
Class: Super Saloons - Frox Blue Jeans Trophy
Date taken: June 1977, Brands Hatch, BRSCC Jubilee Day Race Meeting
Although similar to the stiletto of Ian Forrest, this car was based around a Formula 2 engine & transaxle. The body was a light weight, fiberglass shell.
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Sunbeam Stiletto
Engine: Imp 999cc
Configuration: rear engine, rear-wheel drive
Driver: Ian Forrest
Class: Special Saloons up to 1000cc
Date taken: March 1977 at Start Line, Croft
Stilettos were fastback versions of the Imp, and similarly styled cars were also sold as Imp Californians. The car pictured here is was based on a standard, lightened  Stiletto shell with modified Imp suspension and a highly tuned Imp engine. It was very successful in Scottish as well as English championships. Ian Forrest, a Scot, is now the chief racing instructor at Knockhill, and can regularly be seen on the Discovery Home and Leisure Channel in Mark (the Vet) Evan's A Car Is Born, A Car Is Reborn and A Racing Car Is Born.
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