A 66-year-old classic car found gathering dust in a local barn sold for £18,000 at an auction this week.

The 1954 Sunbeam Alpine MKI is one of only around 200 remaining in the world, and was sold at an H&H Classics auction on Wednesday (22nd July), after being found in a barn in Biddulph Moor.

According to its original logbook, the car was first registered as 'OLR 446' to Rootes Ltd on 10th February 1954.

Acquired by Robert Stephenson Clarke Esq of Brook House, Ardingly, Sussex on 1st August 1954, the same document notes the installation of a correct type replacement engine later that same month.

Migrating from Sussex to Yorkshire the following decade, the Sunbeam had been partially renovated by the time it entered Bill Purser's ownership in 1979-1980.

Having run the car for a couple of years Mr Purser undertook a further, and more thorough, restoration which encompassed the fitting of new sills and rear wheelarches plus an engine overhaul, retrimmed interior and fresh hood.

Belonging to Phil Surtees of Biddulph Moor by the mid-1990s, the Alpine embarked upon a career as a historic rally car.

Granted a Historic Vehicle Identity Form, it contested the Targa Rusticana (1994, 1995), Welsh Retro (1996), Robin Hood Forest Stages (1998), Dubai International (1998) and UAE International (1999) Rallies.

The boot still houses a selection of spares in an old ammunition case, while the dashboard plays host to some additional switches and an auxiliary rev counter.

Modifications include a slightly later Sunbeam MKIII engine, Kenlowe fan, uprated air filter and gearlever mounted overdrive switch.

Despite being dry stored for the past two decades or so, the Sunbeam has been running recently courtesy of a slave battery and jury-rigged fuel system, and remains in a substantially complete state.

Model Background:

Though developed from the Sunbeam-Talbot 90, the Alpine was the first Rootes Group product to wear just the Sunbeam badge.

The design was inspired by Rootes friend and Bournemouth-based Sunbeam-Talbot dealer George Hartwell and finalised by Raymond Loewy.

Norman Garrad of Rootes's competition department was supposedly responsible for the name, which was in honour of the company's numerous successes on the Alpine Rally.

The newcomer found fame at the hands of Works drivers Stirling Moss and Sheila Van Damm and starred in To Catch A Thief, featuring Cary Grant and Grace Kelly.

The Alpine bodies were hand-made by Mulliners Ltd of Birmingham and the cars were powered by a mildly-tuned version of the 2267cc four-cylinder engine from the Sunbeam-Talbot 90, which gave around 80bhp at 4200rpm.

The Alpine was manufactured from 1953 to 1955, during which time some 1,282 MKIs and 300 MKIIIs were produced (there was no MKII version), of which relatively few remain - possibly no more than 200.

To find out more, visit the car's auction lot page here.