Myth Buster
Sunbeam Rapier
SUNBEAM RAPIERS (‘AUDAX’ AND ‘ARROW’) 1 RAYMOND LOEWY DID THE ‘AUDAX’ STYLING
If you’re talking about the man himself, then no. However, Rootes had an arrangement with the Raymond Loewy International agency in London to assist with designs, and the 1955-67 Rapiers were part of this. So it was a collaboration between RLI’s British-based team and Rootes’ own stylist Ted White, albeit based on the Loewy-penned 1953 Studebaker Starliner Hardtop Coupé.
2 THE ‘ARROW’ VERSION WAS BASED ON THE PLYMOUTH BARRACUDA
The ‘Arrow’ Rapier does bear a striking resemblance to the first generation 1964-66 Plymouth Barracuda. And Plymouth was a fellow Chrysler marque, too. However, Rootes chief stylist, Roy Axe, always said that the American machine had no influence on his British effort at all, and it was all pure coincidence. And there are overtones of the previous ‘Audax’ type, with the reverse-rake C-pillar. So perhaps it’s best to say the jury is still out on this one…
3 IT WAS THE LAST BRITISH CAR WITH FINS
Well, not in terms of life, no. The MGB and Midget remained in production after the 1976 demise of the Rapier. And the MG RV8, new in 1992, also had small fins. Granted, many regard that as an MGB in a party frock, but nearly all of its body panels were fresh. Then there’s the Hindustan Ambassador, the befinned British Morris Oxford Series 3 of 1956, that remained in production, albeit in India and through several updates and name changes, until 2014. The fins remained throughout.