Category Archives: History

The Sunbeam lion

From time to time I’m asked about the lion logo used used on Rootes-era Sunbeams.

Sunbeam

This was originally the logo of Clement-Talbot Ltd, the manufacturer of Talbot cars. Talbot was founded in 1903 with the backing of Charles Chetwynd-Talbot, the 20th Earl of Shrewsbury.

talbot

This crest is a heraldic emblem appearing on many coats of arms. In heraldic terms it is generally described as “on a chapeau gules, turned up ermine, a lion statant with the tail extended” which essentially means on a red cap trimmed in ermine, a lion stands with tail extended.

It was chosen because it features on the Earl of Shrewsbury’s coat of arms. You can see it below in the top left.

coatarms

The coat of arms is supported by two talbot hounds. A talbot was a breed of hunting dog that is now extinct. Some texts state that the animal featured in the Sunbeam logo is actually a talbot, but as can be seen here the talbots are quite distinct from the lion.

 

Rootes sales figures for Australia

Year Hillman Humber Singer Sunbeam Rootes All Makes % of market
1956 6,201 1,214 107 11 7,533 145,869 5.16%
1957 5,030 890 176 24 6,120 154,949 3.95%
1958 5,547 915 340 76 6,878 175,071 3.93%
1959 5,665 1,528 380 61 7,634 196,989 3.88%
1960 10,321 1,455 664 124 12,564 244,818 5.13%
1961 4,482 1,436 290 148 6,356 188,132 3.38%
1962 6,854 1,450 59 97 8,460 266,789 3.17%
1968 9,932 307 18 10,257 310,627 3.30%
1969 11,942 45 9 11,996 343,275 3.49%


With thanks to Vic Hughes for compiling this data.