Grace Kelly’s car in To Catch a Thief (1955) was a first-generation Sunbeam Alpine roadster, made by England’s Sunbeam-Talbot Company between 1953 and 1955. As the story goes, Alfred Hitchcock and his production team had yet to choose a car for Grace’s character to drive in the pivotal chase scenes. Some had suggested a Jaguar, but a powerful car like that just didn’t seem right for a delicate millionairess. Others mentioned popular sports cars of the day like the bulky Mercedes 190SL. Ford’s popular two-seat Thunderbird was ruled out as too American.
Grace needed a cool-as-ice roadster, but the right choice couldn’t be found. Then, shortly before production began, Hitchcock’s wife Alma saw a magazine ad for a brand-new car called the Alpine. It simply breathed sex appeal, and it was perfect. Alma told her husband about the car, and the decision was made.
The most famous scene involves a high-speed chase along the winding Moyenne Corniche above Monaco. Ironically, this was the same stretch of road where Grace Kelly would later lose her life in a car accident in 1982.
The location of the original car used in the film remains unknown. In a 2006 episode of History Detectives, a car claimed to be the original was proven false after a VIN comparison. However, Prince Albert II of Monaco purchased a meticulously restored replica in 2012 for the Prince’s car collection to honor his mother’s legacy.
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