Six of these Sunbeam Lotuses went undercover for real — Greater Manchester Police stripped off the Lotus badges, repainted them in plain Talbot colors, and ran them as unmarked pursuit cars against stolen-vehicle crime all through the 1980s.
Lead trim: Sunbeam Lotus 2,172 cc Type 911 16V four (150 bhp)
Chrysler Sunbeam LotusType 911 · 1979–1981
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Nobody in Burbles has spotted a Chrysler Sunbeam Lotus yet. See one on the street, point the app at it, and the first card is yours — with your @handle permanently credited on this page.
FactSix of these Sunbeam Lotuses went undercover for real — Greater Manchester Police stripped off the Lotus badges, repainted them in plain Talbot colors, and ran them as unmarked pursuit cars against stolen-vehicle crime all through the 1980s.
Chrysler commissioned Lotus to develop a rally-going version of the Sunbeam. The resulting Sunbeam Lotus was based on the Sunbeam 1.6 GLS but had stiffer suspension, a larger anti-roll bar and a larger transmission tunnel, with an enlarged 2,172 cc version of Lotus's 1973 cc Type 907 engine, a 16-valve slant four (the Sunbeam version being the Type 911), and a ZF gearbox, fitted at Ludham Airfield near Lotus's Hethel facility from almost-complete cars shipped from Linwood, with final inspection at Stoke, Coventry. In road trim the Type 911 produced 150 bhp at 5,750rpm and 150 lb-ft of torque at 4,500rpm; in rallying trim 250 bhp. It was unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in April 1979 but, not ready for public delivery until after the rebranding, was sold as the "Talbot Sunbeam Lotus", at first in black with silver side stripes and later also in Moonstone Blue with silver stripes. Henri Toivonen won the 1980 Lombard RAC Rally in one, and in 1981 the Sunbeam Lotus brought the entire manufacturers' championship to Talbot. Six were acquired by Greater Manchester Police in 1980 for their Traffic Area Support Services unit.
Collectors Spotted in the Chrysler Sunbeam Lineage
No member has published a public street spot of the Chrysler Sunbeam yet — the First · Worldwide stamp is wide open.
Trims & Figures
One published trim in the catalogue. A blank is a figure not recorded, not zero.
| Trim | Years | Engine | Power | Torque | 0–60 | Drive | Gearbox | MSRP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunbeam Lotus 2,172 cc Type 911 16V four (150 bhp) | 1979–1981 | 2.2 L Inline-4 | 150 hp | 150 lb-ft | — | RWD | — | — |
Owning one
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Owners’ builds
Nobody has claimed one yet.
Photographs
Six of these Sunbeam Lotuses went undercover for real — Greater Manchester Police stripped off the Lotus badges, repainted them in plain Talbot colors, and ran them as unmarked pursuit cars against stolen-vehicle crime all through the 1980s.
While rivals were switching to front-wheel drive, the hot Sunbeam Ti kept its rear-wheel-drive layout — and reviewers of the day actually praised it for suiting a performance car better.
Greater Manchester Police once ran a secret squad of Sunbeam Lotuses with the Lotus badges removed, blending into traffic to catch car thieves.
Rivals
Same body, same money, other badges — tap any card to flip.
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