Special Feature

A Tale of Two Imps – 1969 Sunbeam Imp and 1970 Commer Van

Jim Richardson

At the Brits At The Beach car show in New Zealand recently, among the classic Jaguars, MGs, Triumphs and Morris Minors I saw an unusual looking little late 1960s British car I had never seen before called a Sunbeam Imp.

The car looked pleasant, though unexceptional at first glance, but as it turned out, it was quite unique, and had an interesting story behind it. Its owner, a fellow named Jeremy Tagg— who installs glass in vintage and classic cars professionally — took the time to fill me in on the intriguing design aspects of this pint-size people perambulator that also makes it a potentially piquant rally car instead of the no frills transportation it was designed to be, but more on that later.

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