Originally founded as a bicycle company in the nineteenth century, Sunbeam built its first motorcar in 1901 and its first motorcycle in 1912. Sunbeams participated in Grand Prix racing and speed record attempts during the 1920s and 1930s and even won the French Grand Prix in 1923, but during the 1930s financial troubles forced its sale to the Rootes brothers. They sold luxury cars under the Sunbeam name. Also included within the Rootes Group were British makes Hillman, Humber, Singer, and Talbot. After World War II, Sunbeam built the popular Alpine sports car, which played a starring role in the first James Bond film. The Alpine also provided the basis for the Sunbeam Tiger which, combining the lightweight Alpine chassis with Ford V-8 power, was a potent sports car. Chrysler took over the Rootes Group in the 1960s in order to have a foothold in the British and European markets. The Sunbeam name was mostly phased out after this, although Chrysler sold a three-door hatchback called the Chrysler/Talbot Sunbeam in the late 1970s. A Lotus-prepared version of the Talbot Sunbeam won the World Rally Championship in 1981.