'The 20/60 was considered by many to be far superior to the Rolls Royce 20hp at a chassis price some 25% less, and it is recorded that Henry Royce communicated from his home in Le Canadel in the South of France to those in Derby, "keep an eye on what is going on at Sunbeams", with a particular regard to this model.' - Bruce Dowell, Sunbeam: The Supreme Car The arrival of designer Louis Coatalen at Sunbeam in 1909 and the pursuit of an effective competitions programme enabled Sunbeam to establish a formidable reputation prior to WWI, its superbly made products enjoying a reputation rivalling that of the best from Alvis and Bentley thereafter.

Introduced at the 1923 Olympia Motor Show and priced at £950 for the tourer model, the first 20hp Sunbeam of the post-war era enjoyed a production life in its initial form of only two years, being superseded by a new Twenty in 1926.

The first Twenty featured a massively built chassis frame and was powered by a 3,181cc overhead-valve 'six.

This e...