Reliant : Scimitar SS1
Model Introduction
The Reliant Scimitar SS1 was a clever idea in the wrong decade. Michelotti’s last sketch gave us a tiny, honest-to-goodness British roadster with a backbone chassis, fully independent suspension and bolt-on plastic panels so a car-park nudge didn’t write it off. Early cars ran Ford CVHs; the one everyone wants is the 1800Ti with the Nissan turbo, which gives it proper shove. Trouble is, the styling looked like a kit of parts because… it sort of was. Too many shutlines, those odd pop-ups, and the mid-’80s backdrop of warm hatchbacks with heaters that actually worked.
Then Mazda wandered in and did the same trick without the excuses. The MX-5 arrived with showroom gloss and sweet manners. Reliant tried a tidy-up - SST, then Sabre - and later cars gained a galvanised chassis, but the moment had gone.
Magazine Articles
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Road Test
Back To Basics: Enthusiasts looking for 'real' motoring should welcome the Reliant Scimitar SS1
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Reliant Scimitar Turbo
Howard Walker gets the first drive in the British baby sports car that can shake a Porsche
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Plastic Friend
In two years and over 30,000 miles, Motor's Reliant Scimitar SS1 has provided Lawrence Pearce with pleasure and pain in large doses. Reliability has been good, running costs low, but there's been plenty of aggro...
