On my most recent visit to New York City, I caught up with a good friend of mine who lives in Brooklyn. We decided to meet at the Bedford Avenue subway stop in Williamsburg for a bite to eat, then walk back to his place in Bushwick. As usual, I was keeping my eyes peeled for a classic by the curbside. 
Those of you who have read my articles or follow my car spotting on Instagram (@parkedinbnenyc) will know I have found many a classic on the streets of New York City, even though it’s a rougher environment for cars than most. On this walk, I encountered the typical gentrified Williamsburg vehicles (a bunch of crossovers here, a Fiat 500 or Mini there). I didn’t expect to see anything interesting until we crossed under the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway into Bushwick, a bohemian, industrial-chic enclave full of artists’ studios and hipsters with plenty of old vans and Benzes. But before we even reached the BQE I saw this, inexplicably parked on the sidewalk outside an elementary school.
Forgive my ignorance but I must ask: what is this? Do I need to have my CC credentials yanked for not being able to identify this sports car?
I’m at a loss as well. It has a certain VW-based kit car vibe to it, but that’s the best I can do.
Might be a Fiero kit car…
Bradley GT?
fiberfab Avenger ?
It’s a Cimbria kit car:
http://www.sterlingkitcars.com/members_n_forums/builders-journals-see-our-projects/552-cimbria-silver-first-gen-cimbria.html
http://www.sterlingkitcars.com/history_pages/cimbria/history_module_cm.html
I think you’ve got it. Nicely done.
Ok, do we now yank Ed’s CC credentials because he DID know what that thing is?
Woof!
Wait, I thought I got a credentials *upgrade*?! (c:
I’d say knowledge of an obscure kit car is worth several points on your CC card.
Well, it looks like the mystery has been solved!
Well, one mystery. Ed, can you also figure out why it’s parked on a sidewalk in the middle of Williamsburg? 🙂
Also, the front overhang on these Cimbrias is absurd…
I just like that Ed’s example appears to use 1st-gen Chevette taillamp lenses, and on the link to the website he provided, the black example appears to use taillights from a later H-Body Pontiac Sunbird.
(An excellent find, Will. I, too, have never heard of a Cimbria kit car… that is, before today).
Full disclosure – I had never heard of one before today, either. You just hit me on a good ‘search-fu’ day.
Our man Ed is correctamundo. The car is definitely a Cimbria. If memory serves me, it was first featured in the December 1976 issue of hot VWs and Kit cars. I still have a copy in my possession somewhere.
Let me re-state that it wasn’t merely featured in the December 1976 issue of Hot VWs and Kit Cars, it was featured on the cover, too! As you might guess, I was a young man back then. Couldn’t afford to buy one assembled at the factory and didn’t have the ability or money to build one myself. But always hoped I could find one assembled, and purchase it in good used condition. Close to 20 years ago, I DID find one only about 2 hours away and after looking at it and getting a test ride and drive, I purchased it and the seller trailered it and delivered it to me. Within a year or two, I found another one, and again the seller trailered it to me upon purchase. Drove them both a few times within the first few years of purchase. Since then, they’ve set, garaged. You know, too many responsibilities and seemingly not enough time to do everything I’d like to do.
I actually spent the money required to get the factory sales literature back in the day. Both for the Cimbria and the Cimbria SS. Still have them.
Of my two Cimbrias, the first one is a red car. It has a 2.0L from a Porsche. The second one is black and is powered by a GM 3.8L non-turbo. I do have pictures of the red one on an old cell phone. If I can figure out how to download, er, upload it to my computer, I’ll post them on here.
I was thinking it was a customized Pinto.
I want to say Manta Coyote or Manta Montage but neither for which I can find images matches exactly.
Wiki definition of Cimbria: “This minor planet was named for the Cimbri people encountered by the Romans in Noricum. At first victorious, they were destroyed by Marius in 101 B.C.”
Sounds about right. (c:
“Their unusual chariots, fashioned of mud slathered over more pedestrian wagons and carts, were intentionally designed to appear strange and disconcerting to onlookers. The better to unnerve and discomfort their enemies, it was said.”
Strikes me as a phony Pantera, but Ed is probably correct.
That’s what I was thinking too.
Definitely has a DeTomaso-esque vibe.
That VW basd kit was also sold as a Sterling kit car.
We got it in oz as the Purvis Eureka with the one-piece door.
Good lord, my first thought was that it was a Eureka. Then I thought, no, not in America, but blow me down, it is! Both based on same English design apparently.
My first thought too but in the US nar must be something else
It is based on the Nova kit car designed by Richard Oaks. In the UK in the 70s, customising and kit cars were a relatively new thing that appealed to me as a car mad teenager.
The Nova was one of the most exotic looking kit cars and appeared frequently in Custom Car magazine.
I remember seeing an unmade kit in a garage lockup in the mid 70s in Newport, South Wales.
Saw a few at custom car shows but the VW engine really spoiled the image for me. They also had the obligatory Wolfrace wheels, there were not many aftermarket alloys available at that time, and most of these things were built on a very tight budget.
It definitely has the looks of a 70s child to me, retro futurist
That VW based kit was also sold as a Sterling kit car. Was originally an English design. If I rememebr correctly, one was used in the movie “A Clockwork Orange” by Alex and his friends to terrorize other drivers in the English countryside one night. The doors removed and the top choped off.
The history is covered in the link I posted above:
“The Cimbria (and its derivatives), 1975-ish to early ’90s — At some point in the mid to late ’70s, a beautifully executed, well-engineered, gull-wing derivative of the Sterling emerged on the market from a company called Amore Cars located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This unsanctioned redesign, called the Cimbria, was the creative work of Joe Palumbo, a car enthusiast and entrepreneur (who still has a web presence at Palumbocars.com — as of 2008 — featuring a new, high end, exotic hybrid sports car). The original production run for the Cimbria probably started in 1976. (In our archive is a brochure for the Cimbria, post-marked in ’77, with a price list that states “effective 11-75.” Nobody knows the exact dates.) Sometime in 1978, the Cimbria SS was introduced, representing an ever-so-slightly more refined version of the original. Production of the SS ran until approximately 1982 during which time about 500 Cimbrias were made. Other subsequent minor variants of this car included the Nereia and the Bernardi (Canada).”
More at that link.
The Durango 95 in Clockwork Orange was portrayed by a Probe 16, a different British one-off: http://jalopnik.com/5670683/probe-16-from-a-clockwork-orange-restored-to-horrorshow-new
It was not designed as a copy of any then current automobile. If I remember correctly, it was essentially sort of an exotic car for the masses, as it was designed to be a body over a VW chassis and running gear. Although it was possible to use an engine other than a VW. And, it was possible to be built on a different frame or chassis.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Probe_16
I am humbled by all this knowledge of this rather rare creature. Thank you all for your elucidations.
Looks like Ed is right.
At first glance, I thought it was a Bricklin you found in Brooklyn. 🙂
No Bricklin in Brooklyn, but I did spot a Bricklin in Manhattan…
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/curbside-classics-american/curbside-classic-bricklin-sv-1/
Me too! Note that I’m the least (automotively) knowledgable person on this site.
There used to be so many different kit cars available to rebody the VW floorpan. Back in the ’80s and early ’90s I had strong disdain for VW Bugs and thought that these kit cars were just ridiculous. I remember that there was that Porsche racer 9 something, even a fake Italian exotic or two on the market. I just couldn’t imagine pulling up next to someone driving a real sports car in a replica that looked like it should be at the starting grid at Le Mans, with that awful wheezing, whistling VW idle! My position has softened over the years and maybe one of these might be fun. I know that it is possible to build a hot VW motor. Who knows? It seems so many kits were never finished.
That pic just reminded me of one of my favorite cars as a youth, the “Hardcastle and McCormick” Coyote X.
http://wachidan.blogspot.com/2012/11/coyote-x.html?m=1
There is this interesting site, dedicated to “Fiberglass Classics ”
http://www.forgottenfiberglass.com
Thanks for the link, looks quite interesting!
It’s a 1975 Stirling kit car made in San Lorenzo California
Manufactured by
California component cars inc.
I own car 685
https://www.facebook.com/100016409312225/videos/373467329876908/?idorvanity=1712630748969016&mibextid=Nif5oz