The most improved Rapier was also the one nobody bought — just 3,759 Series Vs were built before it was dropped in 1967, making it the rarest of the whole Series run.
Median 158 hp across 89 similar cars
Lead trim: 1,725 cc OHV (91 hp)
Sunbeam Rapier Series V1965–1967
- 0spots by members
- Unclaimednobody has spotted one yet
- 0sets it belongs to
Nobody in Burbles has spotted a Sunbeam Rapier Series V 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.
FactThe most improved Rapier was also the one nobody bought — just 3,759 Series Vs were built before it was dropped in 1967, making it the rarest of the whole Series run.
Pending completion of the new Fastback Rapier, Rootes released one more update of the Rapier in September 1965, the Series V, which looked exactly like the Series IV inside and out except for "1725" badges on the wings and boot, revealing a re-developed engine. Rootes redesigned the four-cylinder engine to increase the capacity, with a new five-main-bearing crankshaft, making the unit stronger and smoother, and it developed 91 hp at 5,500 rpm; this engine would be developed for many subsequent models. The polarity was changed from positive to negative earth with an alternator in place of the dynamo, and a new twin-pipe exhaust was devised, increasing the maximum speed to 95 mph and reducing the 0–60 mph time to 14.1 seconds. For all its improvements the Series V did not sell, and only 3,759 were built by the time it was discontinued in June 1967, the rarest of all the "Series" Rapiers.
Collectors Spotted in the Sunbeam Rapier Lineage
No member has published a public street spot of the Sunbeam Rapier 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,725 cc OHV (91 hp) | 1965–1967 | 1.7 L Inline-4 | 91 hp | — | 14.1 s | — | — | — |
Owning one
We don’t estimate running costs for a car like this. What it costs depends on its condition, its specialist and how it is driven, and an average would mislead.
Owners’ builds
Nobody has claimed one yet.
Photographs
Rootes tilted the Fastback Rapier's engine to the right — purely so the bonnet line could sit lower, a styling trick shared across the whole Arrow range.
The most improved Rapier was also the one nobody bought — just 3,759 Series Vs were built before it was dropped in 1967, making it the rarest of the whole Series run.
The real new 'Series IV' Rapier never came out as a Rapier at all — Rootes redirected that design into the Humber Sceptre, and reworked the old car to wear the Series IV badge instead.
The Series IIIA looked and felt identical to the Rapier it replaced — every change under the skin was aimed purely at durability, not difference.
Rootes slimmed the windscreen pillars and dropped the scuttle line on the Series III Rapier for a 20% bigger windscreen — the subtlest change nobody noticed.
Rootes launched the Rapier Series II by flying nine cars out to Monte Carlo so the press could try them right as the 1958 rally wrapped up.
Building a single Series I Rapier took three cities: Pressed Steel built the shell, Thrupp & Maberly in London painted and trimmed it, then it shipped again to Coventry just to get its engine.
Rivals
Same body, same money, other badges — tap any card to flip.
The Celica XX, Japan's name for the A60 Supra, introduced the world's first in-car navigation computer.
The CTR Anniversary looks like a 911 but Ruf built its carbon monocoque from scratch, no Porsche body underneath.
The 228's coupe styling hides a sedan underneath: Maserati stretched it onto the longer four-door Biturbo chassis to make room for its biggest V6, which is literally where the name comes from — 2-door, 2.8 litre.
Switching to fuel injection let this V8 finally shed its trademark bonnet bulge — and only 405 of these flat-hooded Series 5 cars were built before the whole model retired in 1989.
Japanese buyers got a secret weapon in their MX-6 — the JDM-only KL-ZE V6 made about 40 more horsepower than the engine sold in the exact same car in North America.
An American tuner, Callaway Cars, built twin-turbo conversions of the GTV6 that boosted its V6 by fifty percent to 230 hp — turning Alfa's grand tourer into something far quicker than the factory ever intended.
Audi TTS Coupe · TTS Coupe (2016–2023) · 2016–2023.
A product of the DaimlerChrysler merger, the Crossfire shares 80% of its parts with the Mercedes-Benz SLK — German bones under American badges.