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The history of Sunbeam unfolds in the year 1887 when John Marston built his first bicycle. It immediately spoke for itself on the quality, paving the way to his initial success. At the suggestion put forth by Thomas Cureton, he made his grand entrance into the manufacture of cars. The story says that the brand derived its name on the suggestion placed by his wife Ellen, who was captivated by the way the sun reflected on the black enameled frame of the bicycle.

The work on the first Sunbeam prototype of the car began in the year 1899. They came up with a single cylinder 4 hp water-cooled engine equipped with two speed gears and a tiller steering. The second car was produced in 1900. It also had a reverse drive for the rear wheels and a handbrake and pedal brakes, along with solid rubber tires.

It is, however, in 1901 that the Maxwell Maberly-Smith partnership came up with their first production car. The car was powered by a single cylinder 3 hp engine, which came with the seats placed on either side, sold by them for £130 ($213.88 US). The production of this design was brought to an end in 1904. In 1906, the company launched a new design of Sunbeam cars that were based on a Peugeot motor.

After the continuous success it had on the various racing grounds, Sunbeam achieved the much-awaited popularity that later led to the formation of the Sunbeam Motor Car Company Limited, in 1905.

The period from 1903 to 1907 was highly significant because the car set many land speed records. In 1909, the company appointed Louis Herve Coatalen as their chief engineer. He introduced many modifications to the existing blueprint.

His initiative introduced a monobloc engine, a rear-mounted petrol tank, cone leather clutch, four-speed gear with reverse, and a drive shaft onto the rear axle in 1912. Sunbeam started the production of ports models beginning in 1913. The company three-Liter Super Sports was one of the greatest hits then. It had a twin overhead cam engine capable of 130 hp when supercharged that travelled at a top speed of over 90 mph.

In 1920, it amalgamated with Darracq and Talbot to form the S.T.D. group (Sunbeam, Talbot, and Darracq). In 1923, Sunbeam became the first British company to win the French Grand Prix. This was followed by a new land speed record of 150 mph in 1925. Later, Sunbeam started with the production of trolleybuses in 1931.

In 1935 the company went into receivership. The Rootes Group purchased the Talbots and replaced the cars with Hillman and Humber variants. A new marque, Sunbeam-Talbot, sprung up in 1938 which showed off Talbot’s coachwork and the Hillman and Humber chassis.

But a financial crisis of the Rootes Group saw Sunbeam moving under the Chrysler Group in 1964. Chrysler’s attempt to identify the single best car of the group later saw the demise of the brand Sunbeam. With everything put under the brand Chrysler, there was no brand recall for Sunbeam.

The last car that was produced under the Sunbeam marque was the Rootes Arrow series Alpine/Rapier fastback from 1967 to 1976. A Hillman-Avenger had managed to carry on the name Chrysler Sunbeam until the early 1980s, with the last models known as Talbot Sunbeams. When Chrysler Europe was taken over by Peugeot and Renault in 1978, the curtain fell over the brand “Sunbeam.”