Sunbeam Works Racing cars participated in the 1922 XVI Grand Prix de l'A.C.F. in Strasbourg. The race took place on 15 July 1922 and was run to a formula stipulating that maximum engine capacity should not exceed 2- litre and that the cars should be two-seaters weighing not less than 650 kg. The formula was to remain in force for four years producing "fields of brilliance to be unequalled for many years" it was the first rolling massed start in the history of Grand Prix motor-racing.
ThreeErnest Henry designed team cars were constructed for the event and a similar fourth test car served as a test, practice and spare car until its engine was ruined by fire before the race. During the race the engines in all three Sunbeam team cars failed and none finished.
After the Grand Prix one of the Sunbeam cars was entered in a Brooklands race, which it won. All four cars were subsequently sold to privateers and entered in various events with varied levels of success. All three team cars and the test/practice car survive as a rare example of a complete British Works team of the Vintage era. However, only one is original; the other three are genuine, authentic and resurrected.
The course near the French city of Strasbourg was roughly a triangular of unpaved public roads with three near straights and three sharp corners. The start line where elaborate viewing tribunes and fronting ‘pits’ were built was at Duppigheim, first corner was at Entzheim, second at Innenheim, and final corner at Duttlenheim. It was 8.31 miles (13.37 km) long, requiring 60 laps to complete the 498.89 miles (802.89 km).
In practice it became clear that the Fiat team had superior speed; Sunbeam axle ratio were lowered to improve speed. In the race, the Sunbeams could not match the performance of the Fiats, safe engine revolutions were exceeded and the inlet valves fractured; the Sunbeams were ‘put out of running’. Jean Chassagne in car No.9, the team leader and winner of that year's IoM T.T. with a modified 1921 Grand Prix Sunbeam retired after only five laps as did K. Lee Guinness in car No.16.
Segrave, in car No.21, the junior team member, in his second ever Grand Prix lasted ‘approximately half the full distance’. He was later to remember this event as ‘sheer misery’ (not least due to chemical fuel burns on his backside sustained by fuel spillage, the result of a hurried and untidy refuelling); he did hold a fourth place behind the Fiats for most of his race.
On 30 September 1922 the Essex M.C. put over a series of Speed Championships. The 2-litre 8.5mile event was won in one of the Grand Prix Sunbeams by H.O.D. Segrave at 92.81 mph, fastest lap 99.81 mph. This was the only success these cars obtained for Sunbeam.
The failure of the cars had irreparable damage on their designer Ernest Henry's reputation and career. Despite the mechanical weakness of its rear axle, the performance of the Fiat 804 convinced Louis Coatalen, Sunbeam's general manager, to use the design as inspiration for his winning series of Grand Prix cars between 1923 -1925.
The 1922 Sunbeam engines which failed during the race were repaired, the advanced servo operated brake systems were removed and installed in the 1923 Grand Prix Sunbeams. The gear lever was repositioned to the centre of the cockpit. A few years later after a ‘cooling period’ the cars were sold into private hands. All three 1922 team cars as well as the fourth Test / Practice car survive today; a rare survival of a complete Grand Prix team of the vintage era. However, only one is original (Sunbeam II); the other three are genuine, authentic and resurrected (Sunbeam III, Test/ Practice, and Sunbeam I respectively).
Designed by Ernest Henry in Suresnes, with input from Louis Coatalen and the Sunbeam Experimental Department Wolverhampton. Jean Chassagne was liaising and also in charge of testing.
Before the Great War Ernest Henry was a part of the successful and innovative ‘Charlatans’ who designed the first ever double overhead cams four valve Grand Prix engines for the 1912 Peugeot; the 1922 Sunbeam design follows similar principles. The aluminum body was the latest in streamlining and is typical of the Post Great War Henry design with the spare wheel carried longitudinally in the tail and braced by the large fuel tank.
Each of the three team cars was designed around its intended driver integrating each driver's requirements and preferences. The asymmetrically inclined valves (inlet 20 degrees and outlet 40 degrees from vertical) were a significant departure for Henry and may be attributable to Sunbeam and Coatalen whose interest in desaxé configuration dated to 1911. Another unusual detail was the engine mounted directly on the chassis frame similarly to the 1921 'invincible Talbot-Darracq'.
Following tests in Brooklands and Isle of Man prior to the Grand Prix, modifications were instigated to the tail support bracket. Different carburetor configurations and different tyre types were tried, axle ratios experimented with, aero screens and mudguards were installed or removed as required.
Body in British Racing Green, black wheels and black leather trim (fluted for team cars, flat panel Test/ Practice car).
The Sunbeam Works records showing chassis and engine numbers, against a team driver did not survive; however, records of chassis numbers raced at Brooklands did survive. Research of the history of individual cars derived from analysis of photographs and related period documents was carried out and published by William (Bill) Boody, Neville Webb and Bruce Dowell with various results. Works history is incomplete and in some instances deduced. The post Works history and race record of the cars is generally agreed on.
A test car was constructed, tested and modified after which three team cars were assembled at the Sunbeam Wolverhapmpton Experimental Department. For the purpose of the Grand Prix the three Works team cars were designated Sunbeam I, II and III for Jean Chassagne (riding mechanic Robert Laly), Major H.O.D. Segrave (riding mechanic Jules Moriceau), K. Lee Guinness (riding mechanic Bill Perkins) respectively. The test car became the Strasbourg spare car and was used in practice by all three team members; "Guinness, Chassagne and myself [Segrave] put any amount of time on the course".
‘The Race Horse’. Chassis stamped no.1. Engine stamped no.1. Registration – not registered.
1922 Strasbourg Grand Prix race no.9 for Jean Chassagne (riding mechanic Robert Laly) was shipped in 1925 to Sydney Australia for the racing driver Hope Bartlett; it successfully competed in his and subsequent hands and continued to be developed; body was gradually altered and then removed by 1948; engine was replaced in 1940 with an Oldsmobile engine; other engine, axle and various components were fitted as needed. In 1964 recovery of original 1922 components and resurrection of the car commenced.(See footnote below.)
‘The Time Warp Car’. Chassis stamped no.2.22. Engine brass plate stamped no.2. Registration DA6468.
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