Motoring Notes
The Sunbeam Car
FROM the very beginning of the present century the Sun Company has done much to uphold the prestige of Brit' made cars, and there have been few races at home or ab in which a Sunbeam has not at least been placed. The 1 models look as though they would add to this splendid t tion. Last week I tried this firm's 25 h.p. saloon, fitted is the popular Weymann body.
The Treasury rating is only 23.8, but when the car is on road it is impossible to believe that she is not a forty ho power design. The engine is extraordinarily flexible and acceleration perfect. This, combined with wonderfully I steering, makes driving in traffic almost a pleasure, desp the enormous length of the car, 154 feet. The steering-Ns is large and the electric horn, ignition and throttle cont easily accessible within it.
Although a landaulette model weighs about two tons car is perfectly light to handle at all speeds, and will era at 4 m.p.h. on the top gear, or att:An 70 m.p.h. without slightest effort. The spark is automatically varied accord to the speed by a governor. The gear change lever is conveniently placed in the 251, model. In the 20 h.p. model I wish it were both longer nearer the driving seat. The hand-brake is put into net by raising a lever ; this seems to give greater power in emergency than the usual type of upright lever. The sense of power, and of reserve power is exhilarating fitted with the Weymann body as in the model I hired, Sunbeam is one of the liveliest cars made. The landaule will take a hill finishing with a 1 in 8 gradient on'the top g never dropping below 22 m.p.h. The hill on which this was made is West Hill, Highgate, at which no proper run be got, and which has a nasty bend near the top. As regards that important matter (to every ,woman)—t' comfort of the body—I can say without hesitation that Ills never sat in a more luxuriously comfortable car. The • are upholstered in solid plain leather and have been desi by someone who really understands the human Noe nowhere dges one- feel the necessity of ti.nether.inA4Pad
even on the worst roads. The driving seats are movable and will travel to the extent of 6 ins., which should allow for
• almost any owner-driver idiosyncrasy. A particularly im- portant point is that the seats are so arranged that the driver has a perfect view of the road, in spite of the very long bonnet. The doors arc very wide, closing rather behind the cushion of the front seat. To get over the difficulty of opening such ti door there is a very neat device whereby it may be opened from anywhere along its length by simply pulling on a leather cord which actuates the lock.
There are two extra seats in the landaulette which fold up inconspicuously into a small cavity at the back of the front seats. The wind screen is of the single pane type, and has an electric wiper ; it is lifted from the bottom by a screw gear when required.
Like all Sunbeams, these models are thoroughly well finished in every detail, and have every aid to comfort that ingenuity can design. There is, for instance, a leather draughtproof muff which fits over the control lever to prevent draught rising through the "gate" ; also there is a roller blind over the rear window to shut out following headlights ; this is operated by a small lever above the driver's seat.
HONOR GOODITART.
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