1935 Sunbeam Twenty-Five 'Woody' Estate Car

• Converted from a saloon to 'Woody' estate car in the 1940s
• One owner for almost 50 years
• Formerly part of a major UK collection
• Professionally restored in 1998 by marque specialist Bill Barrott
• Present ownership since 2014

John Marston Limited's first Sunbeam production car, a De Dion-engined voiturette, was sold in 1901, but it was not until 1907, two years after the Sunbeam Motor Car Company had been formed, that the firm produced its first all-British model: the 16/20. The arrival of designer Louis Coatalen in 1909 and the pursuit of an effective competitions programme enabled Sunbeam to establish a formidable reputation prior to WWI, its superbly made products enjoying a reputation rivalling that of the best from Alvis and Bentley thereafter.

Sunbeam's top-of-the-range model for 1934 was the six-cylinder Twenty-Five, rated for taxation purposes at 23.8hp and displacing 3,318cc. The engine was an overhead-valve design that transmitted power through a four-speed gearbox with synchromesh on second, third and top to the spiral-bevel rear axle. Lockheed hydraulic braking become standard on the larger Sunbeams from 1931. Built at the Moorfield Works in Wolverhampton, here was a luxury car with significant performance boasting handling and braking to match. Its direct competitors were the contemporary Daimler Straight-Eight and the 3½-Litre Bentley, although the Sunbeam was significantly less expensive than both of those models. In four-door saloon form it sold for £875 and represented outstanding value for money, with superb coachwork and interior furnishings.

This car was converted from a saloon to its present estate car form in the 1940s, probably benefiting at that time from taxation and fuel benefits for utility vehicles. The original front part or the coachwork was retained but the rear quarters from the driver's door back were replaced with the then fashionable 'Woody' coachwork. The car is known to have had one owner for almost 50 years, forming part of a major UK collection of historic vehicles. Its restoration was carried out in 1998 by the highly respected Sunbeam specialist, Bill Barrott of Sheffield, the work encompassing a coachwork restoration and a major engine overhaul.

The current vendor purchased the Sunbeam in December 2014 (sales invoice on file). Described by our vendor as in excellent condition throughout, this superbly presented and unique vehicle is finished in black and upholstered in blue leather. Accompanying paperwork consists of a 2017 condition report; copy auction catalogue description from 2000; and a V5C document.