Meet the Owner – Amir Keshvari and his Sunbeam Vogue

When the Rootes Group introduced their ‘Arrow’ series models at the 1966 - London Motor Show - (49) EARLS COURT MOTOR SHOW - COLOUR - YouTube, they founded a dynasty. There were Hillmans, Humbers, Singers, Sunbeams and Chryslers, with a choice of saloon, estate, coupe and, for some markets, pick-up trucks. In addition, on 1 February 1965, Rootes and the Iran National Company signed a ‘technical assistance’. The result was the production under licence of the Hillman Hunter as the Paykan - ‘Arrow’ in Farsi.

The Shah opened the assembly plant on the 16 May 1967, and Lord Rootes informed the press that the deal with Iran was worth £30m. The advertisements stated, “Hopefully, one day every Iranian will have an arrow”. By the time the last 2,295,095th Paykan saloon left the production line on the 15 May 2005, it was indeed the country’s national car. Amir Keshvari is one of its many enthusiasts, and he explains: “As an Iranian, I grew up with the Paykan, and all my memories are with the Arrow cars. When I immigrated to England, the only thing that gave me peace and the feeling that I was in my own country was the Arrow. So when I drive it, it is the best pleasure in the world for me.”

And today, Amir’s remarkable collection includes one of the rarest UK-built versions – the Sunbeam Vogue. Essentially, the demise of the Singer marque in 1970 resulted in a surplus of bodyshells. The solution from the recently formed Chrysler UK was to introduce the renamed ‘Sunbeam Vogue’ in April.

By October, Chrysler UK rebranded much of the range, replacing the Sunbeam Vogue with the Hunter GL. At the same time, the Hillman Minx became the Hunter De Luxe, and the Hillman GT was now marketed as the Hunter GT. This six-month run makes Amir’s silver saloon one of the most exclusive members of the Arrow family on the road. And it more than lives up to those Rootes Group claims of the original Singer ‘New Vogue’ of 1966 – “the crisp new look of luxury travel”.

With thanks to - Amir Keshvari.