1966 Sunbeam Alpine Series V

1966 Sunbeam Alpine Series V in Get Smart, TV Series, 1965-1970 Ep. 3.21+

Class: Cars, Convertible — Model origin:

Vehicle used a lot by a main character or for a long time

Comments about this vehicle

Author	Message
tv boy ◊ 2010-12-17 11:51	This appears to be a different car than the Tiger Max drives in the opening credits and throughout seasons one through three. It pops up late in season three. dsl wrote Yes, I'd say it's worth a page. Looks as if it's been debadged/detrimmed to deliberately blur whether it's an Alpine or Tiger. I think it is an Alpine S5 (Sept 65+, no lettering above grille) which has been Tigerised by the chrome side strip. However proper Tiger Mk1 would have it interrupted by Tiger script on front wing. Missing front wing badge is because while both Alpine S5 and Tiger had these badges, the text was different according to model. [Tiger Mk2 (Jan 67) did not have the side strip and grille was different, but did have chrome sill and wheel arch strips, so is probably irrelevant]. Wheels not diagnostic - some Tiger Mk1s had Alpine-like hubcaps and whitewalls as here. I think the Alpine and Tiger had different inset grille badges, so it is interesting that the badge has been removed. Perhaps they had to return the 64 Tiger so created an Alpine-based lookalike for later series/episodes. The alternative that this is a Tiger is possible, but there seems no obvious reason to alter all the badging and trim away from the style of the previous car and create the various contradictions.
SixtiesSwing ◊ 2022-05-15 22:50	I'd go with the explanation above. Why else go through the trouble to remove all the badging to obscure the actual model. As this is season 3, I wonder if this is somehow related to the 1967 Chrysler takeover of Rootes Group and of course, Sunbeam in the process. I know that Chrysler did not want to have to warranty cross-town rival Ford's engines used in the Tiger, especially considering Chrysler had a longer powertrain warranty (10 years) than Ford! I would posit that obscuring the model would minimize publicity for potential buyers interested in the "Get Smart car". Besides, there was probably no reason to run the more expensive Tiger in scenes than an Alpine. Best I know, Don Adams came into possession of the original Tiger, and gave it to his daughters to use...both of them who crashed it.....(you can hear me grating my teeth.) But ads far as product placement goes, I have always had a great fondness for the Alpine / Tiger, especially in this iconic "Carnival Red". Just a beautiful motorcar.

Author

Message

tv boy

◊ 2010-12-17 11:51

This appears to be a different car than the Tiger Max drives in the opening credits and throughout seasons one through three. It pops up late in season three.

dsl wrote Yes, I'd say it's worth a page. Looks as if it's been debadged/detrimmed to deliberately blur whether it's an Alpine or Tiger. I think it is an Alpine S5 (Sept 65+, no lettering above grille) which has been Tigerised by the chrome side strip. However proper Tiger Mk1 would have it interrupted by Tiger script on front wing. Missing front wing badge is because while both Alpine S5 and Tiger had these badges, the text was different according to model. [Tiger Mk2 (Jan 67) did not have the side strip and grille was different, but did have chrome sill and wheel arch strips, so is probably irrelevant]. Wheels not diagnostic - some Tiger Mk1s had Alpine-like hubcaps and whitewalls as here. I think the Alpine and Tiger had different inset grille badges, so it is interesting that the badge has been removed. Perhaps they had to return the 64 Tiger so created an Alpine-based lookalike for later series/episodes. The alternative that this is a Tiger is possible, but there seems no obvious reason to alter all the badging and trim away from the style of the previous car and create the various contradictions.

SixtiesSwing

◊ 2022-05-15 22:50

I'd go with the explanation above. Why else go through the trouble to remove all the badging to obscure the actual model. As this is season 3, I wonder if this is somehow related to the 1967 Chrysler takeover of Rootes Group and of course, Sunbeam in the process. I know that Chrysler did not want to have to warranty cross-town rival Ford's engines used in the Tiger, especially considering Chrysler had a longer powertrain warranty (10 years) than Ford! I would posit that obscuring the model would minimize publicity for potential buyers interested in the "Get Smart car". Besides, there was probably no reason to run the more expensive Tiger in scenes than an Alpine. Best I know, Don Adams came into possession of the original Tiger, and gave it to his daughters to use...both of them who crashed it.....(you can hear me grating my teeth.)

But ads far as product placement goes, I have always had a great fondness for the Alpine / Tiger, especially in this iconic "Carnival Red". Just a beautiful motorcar.

1966 Sunbeam Alpine Series V

1966 Sunbeam Alpine Series V in Get Smart, TV Series, 1965-1970 Ep. 3.21+

Comments about this vehicle

Add a comment

Advertising