The Talbot Sunbeam Lotus is an early-’80s classic; reimagined by Tolman Engineering with 21st century hardware and electronics, it’s also an absolute joy -
. At the end of the test, Chris happened to make ‘a flippant comment’ about Sunbeam Lotuses, and the aforementioned client remarked that he’d been searching for two years for the right car but hadn’t found it. Pretty soon Chris had started building him one…
With throaty carbs and a distributor, the twin-cam made 242bhp on the dyno, but Chris then removed the old tech and fitted a complete MoTeC M150 management system with fly-by-wire throttle bodies, eight injectors, coil-on-plug ignition and Tolman’s own cam sensor set-up to make an engine that produces 265bhp and revs to nearly 8000rpm. The complete spec includes a power distribution module, a CAN bus bespoke wiring loom, and traction and launch control.
Blyton Park in mid-winter is not perhaps the most welcoming of places, but the track’s slick, frosty top layer promises negligible grip levels and enticingly effortless ways to exceed the limit of grip. You need the clutch only to move away from rest, after that you can forget it, and there’s no drama to the process as long as you’re sensitive with your feet and smooth.
I try the latter as much as I can, because particularly on a short, tight circuit such as this one the temptation is to try to drive the Sunbeam like a rally car as much as possible. Be damned with smooth lines and ultimate speed, I want to feel it sliding – and, once achieved, it’s addictive. As Chris promised, the Nitrons are set surprisingly soft, but rather than make the Sunbeam feel wallowy they give it an amazing amount of traction even in these conditions.