It’s not very often that you see a Talbot Sunbeam Lotus for sale, so we were particularly excited when we stopped off at Anglia Car Auctions and spotted this one in the yard.
For those of you who aren’t aware, Anglia Car Auctions run regular classic car auctions throughout the year and each sale attracts an eclectic mix of vehicles and associated paraphernalia. Such is the scale and popularity of their auctions, each sale takes two whole days to complete and you’ll find something to tickle everyone’s fancy, from rusty old relics fresh from the barn, right through to high-end treasures from our motoring past.
Obviously, when we saw this particular Sunbeam Lotus, it was the ‘barn find’ condition that meant it had the ‘wow factor’ for us. Upon chatting to the team at Anglia Car Auctions, we were told that it had just arrived from North Wales. The cogs in my little brain whirred. “Hmmmmm, I know a few people up there. I wonder if I can find out a bit more?”
Now, bearing in mind we are based in Suffolk and Anglia Car Auctions are based in Norfolk, it was surely a million-to-one shot that we’d be able to trace the seller, yeah? Well, you know what they say about million-to-one shots; quite often, they come good!
The next thing we knew, we were sent videos of the Sunbeam and, get this, IT’S A RUNNER!
A quick look on the DVLA website indicates that the car has sat since 1994 and, judging by the overall condition, that would seem to ring true. It needs work….
That said, a Talbot Sunbeam Lotus is always going to attract a lot of attention and, as you’ll see from the video below, this one has a head start on many restoration projects, as it drives.
We’ll update this page when we get some more information (i.e. when Anglia Car Auctions add it to their website) and also post an update on our UK Barn Finds Facebook page. In the meantime, we hope you enjoy the clip below and urge you to have a look around the Anglia Car Auctions April Classic Car Sale for other gems.
We’ll be working on the UK Barn Finds YouTube channel this year, including content about our own cars and bikes, so please pop over and subscribe to show your support. It really does help.