Three-quarter front view of a Bronze, 1968, Sunbeam Stiletto, on display in the car club zone of the 2019 Silverstone Classic
The Sunbeam Stiletto is considered by many to be the most desirable, certainly the most sought after, Imp model. It's name probably has something to do with the existing Sunbeam Rapier, shrink a rapier and it becomes a stiletto (medieval dagger with a very slim blade, elegant and wicked). It combined the sleek coupé lines of the Californian and the engine of the Imp Sport. The Stiletto had four headlights as standard, along with a vinyl roof (always black Leathercloth). The dashboard is the most noticeable difference with the interior. This large, black, moulded piece of engineering (peculiar only to this model) featured novel ideas such as warning lights which can be dipped for night time driving. All Stiletto finishes have white twin coachlines - except Polar White, which has twin red. Stiletto models only had wheels paint black. They had the Sunbeam stainless steel wheel trims as standard. It has the Imp Sport engine. 68mm x , 875cc single OHC aluminium. Twin Stromberg 125CD carbs, new cylinderhead with improved gasflow and larger inlet valves, higher lift cam, stronger pistons, oil cooler, 6in. Laycock diaphragm self-adjusting clutch. The superb standard Imp gearbox, all synchromesh. 0-50 in secs ('Motor' road test) Top speed 90mph. Fully independent suspension. Girling system servo assisted brakes, 8in. drums, swept area. Full safety-standard dashboard with matt-bevelled instruments. Plus new 15in. padded leathercloth covered steering wheel. Wind-up windows. Headlamp flasher. Carpet, wall-to-wall. Through-flow heating and ventilation. Plus: sublimely comfortable front reclining seats. A lockable glove box. Padded arm rests. Beautiful, breathable Amblair upholstery. Individual fold-down rear seats. Curved side windows. Outside: Great trim. Black vinyl covered roof on the raking fastback. And four headlights to bring a little light in your life. 813 (recommended price, ex-works inc. Seat belts extra)
Size: 5072px × 3529px
Location: Silverstone Circuit, Towcester, Northamptonshire, NN12 8TN
Photo credit: © John Gaffen / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: -quarter, 1968, 2019, 875cc, aluminium, badge-engineered, block, body, british, bronze, camshaft, car, clasic, classic, club, coupe, derivative, front, groups, hillman, imp, model, overhead, product, rootes, silverstone, stiletto, straight-4, style, sunbeam, variants, view, water-cooled, zone
