Mention to non Curbside Classic devotees that you’ve bought a Reliant and many people’s first reaction could well be (still be) “You’re driving a three wheeler?”
Mention to non Curbside Classic devotees that you’ve bought a Scimitar and many people’s first reaction could well be (still be) “Princess Anne had one of those”. She did, as did Prince Philip and Prince Andrew.
Rarely have a brand name and model names been so separated in recognition, or two such disparate cars been the main identifiers for the same manufacturer. But don’t worry; we’re only looking at the Scimitar here.
The roots of the Scimitar lie in a car called the Ashley 1172 sports, built by the Ashley company, a now long defunct and always small builder of fibreglass (fiberglass in US spelling, also known as GRP when combined with the resin in the lay-up) specials.
The rights to the Ashley were acquired by a combination of the Israeli Autocars Company and Reliant, to create the Sabra and the Sabre respectively.
The Reliant Sabre used familiar British Ford four and six cylinder engines, Triumph TR4 front suspension and a ZF gearbox.
Overall volume was low, at around 200 cars, but Reliant’s appetite for a larger car than their usual three wheelers was whetted.
CC has previously seen the Daimler SP250 Dart, also built with a fibreglass body. A closed coupe, proposed to replace and update the Daimler and based on the Daimler’s chassis was designed by Britain’s Ogle Design and displayed at the 1962 Motor Show. As Daimler, by then owned by Jaguar, were not interested, Ogle therefore planned to market the car themselves, initially known as the SX250 and then the Ogle Scimitar. Some cars, either two or six depending on the record you read, were built before Reliant acquired the rights and Ogle adapted it to fit the Sabre running gear.
In 1964, the definitive original Reliant Scimitar Coupe was launched. Officially known as the Scimitar SE4, fitted with a 2.6 litre straight six Ford engine tweaked to 120bhp. In 1966, the Ford Essex 3.0 litre V6, as used in many other places in the British industry including the AC 3000ME CC looked at recently, was slotted in and performance took a step up. This was now a 120mph car, with 0-60 mph coming up in around 10 seconds. There were substantial changes to the front suspension and chassis frame to adapt them to the shorter V6. Visually, little changed – that roof profile, so redolent of the MGB GT, remained, as did the waistline ridge that matched the MG’s, flowing off the front wheel arch.
Reliant also built a version with a 2.5 litre Ford V6; in total around 1000 were built. But something more exciting was also happening.
In 1965, Ogle were commissioned by glass maker Triplex (part of the Pilkington Company) to build a car to demonstrate their new laminated heat absorbing glass, branded Sundym. Ogle did not disappoint, with lead designer Tom Karen coming up with the Scimitar GTS.
Reliant and Triplex were even more delighted when the car was sold to Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. A high style, all British car for the ultimate man about town – you can imagine Ogle and Reliant were really chuffed. The original car is still extant and owned by an enthusiast in North America.
The Scimitar GTS had over 40sqft of curved safety glass, most of it the Sundym heat absorbing type, and production in that form was clearly going to be difficult and uneconomic. Ogle and Triplex had never expected it to a production car, but the Ogle and Reliant were stimulated to consider something.
The idea of the GTE was born, as long roof, four seat version of the coupe, finished off with a flat glass hatchback. Flat rear glass may have been a style highlight, but it was also cheaper and easier for a low volume car. In concept, it was exactly the same as the Volvo 1800ES, but it came to market four years ahead of the Swedish car.
Reliant fitted the car with four seats and in a novel touch the rear seats were individual buckets, divided by a large hump, and individually folding for a certain amount of luggage capacity. This feature in conjunction with the rear styling and the hatch, perhaps more than any other, cemented the Scimitar in the public awareness and lifted it from being perceived as an MGB or Triumph GT6, albeit with more power.
Photo from cars-from-uk.com
The GTE was built on a new chassis, designed by John Crosthwaite, a man associated with racing cars from Cooper and Lotus. Crosthwaite had previously adapted the Scimitar SE4 for the Ford V6 and now produced a new chassis and suspension for the SE5, around the 3 litre Ford V6. At the front, wishbones and a stout anti roll bar, at the rear trailing arms and a Watts linkage. Steering came from Ford, the gearbox was from Laycock and usually had overdrive, or was automatic from Borg Warner. Detail parts like switches, lights, instruments, handles and the like were frequently Ford or BL items, in a way typical of the British specialist industry.
The Reliant Scimitar GTE was launched at the London Motor Show in October 1968. Press reaction was either very positive or in some cases more negative, never ambivalent. The negative reactions were generally reversed after driving and once the public reaction had been more fully understood.
You often sense that Ogle Design and Tom Karen (above) had a bit of a rebellious streak in them, declining to fit in tidily to the motor industry community, perhaps as what we might now call a disrupter.
At the same London Motor Show, Ogle separately showed the Ogle Scimitar GTE. Whilst it acknowledged the Reliant car, and Reliant acknowledged the Ogle input into their car, you sense that the Ogle car was the one Tom Karen really wanted to have seen in production. The variations were in part minor – a revised front end with concealed lights and, significant and forward looking – a full glass roof over the front seats and a more luxury fitted interior. This carried forward the spirit of the original GTS into a more practical and production capable way but was perhaps a bit too much too soon for Reliant. It was, however, purchased by the Chairman of Reliant.
Market reception of the Scimitar GTE was quickly seen as positive. In six years, Reliant had sold around 1000 Scimitar GT coupes; in four years they sold over 4300 SE5 GTE hatchbacks and the Coupe was quickly phased out.
In 1972, the SE5 was updated to become the SE5a, with very mild changes – additional reversing lights, a new dash and badging were the biggest changes. Another 5100 cars were sold in the next four years. The customers included HRH Princess Anne, who got the first of eight Reliant GTEs for a twentieth birthday present in 1970. She actually also had the last one Reliant produced.
Perhaps the definitive Scimitar was the (featured) 1975 SE6, which was an evolution of the SE5 series, but with some significant changes that could go unnoticed to the casual observer. Skillfully, Ogle and Reliant added four inches to the wheelbase and three inches to the width of the car without visually impacting the appearance significantly. Indeed, without the contemporary rubber block bumpers and larger outboard headlamp, spotting the new car was not easy. But the changes added substantially to the interior space, especially in the rear seats, and Reliant also put a lot of effort into the standard of the interior trim materials.
The feature car is a 1976 SE6, unusually fitted a vinyl roof. Getting a vinyl roof on the fibreglass doesn’t sound an easy task – getting anything to stick to such a substrate tidily is an art to say the least – and there are no panel gaps or aftermarket sunroof to cover. The oval cover centrally mounted under the rear window is the fuel filler.
For 1977, Reliant offered the SE6a. In response to press and public criticism, it had a stiffer chassis and better (Lockheed, not Girling) brakes, a Ford not Borg Warner automatic and gentle revisions to the bumpers. Power continued to come from the Ford Essex V6, until 1980, when the German Cologne 2.8 litre V6 was fitted. The lower torque meant a revision to the final drive ratio to keep the acceleration where the customers were perceived to need it, and still offer around 120mph. From 1981, the steel chassis frame was galvanised.
Perhaps surprisingly, it took until 1980 for Reliant to over a convertible version, with a roof bar arrangement that was similar to the T-bar on the Triumph Stag, which had died the year before. The conversion design was again done by Ogle Design, and a lot of reinforcement went in as you can imagine.
This came to market as the Scimitar GTC (factory code SE8b) with the Cologne V6, and 442 were built over the next six years. Yes, it was attractive car, but it was an expensive way to buy Austin Allegro door handles and Vauxhall Chevette rear lights.
Unarguably, the Scimitar was facing a tougher market now than it was ten years earlier. Probably the most direct domestic competitor was the Triumph Stag, another differently configured, comfort in preference to outright speed grand tourer that also came with baggage of its own – the Triumph V8 engine and the BL quality reputation to name two pieces. The Lancia Beta HPE directly aped its style, but with a much better badge and more coherent package, rust apart. The hatchback Ford Capri 3.0 Ghia offered something very similar, indeed perhaps something inspired by the Scimitar, with the same engine and interior format, the Opel Monza perhaps trumped both (it would for me, anyway), as perhaps did the SAAB 99 Combi Coupe as well.
The low volume, relatively cheap but hand finished, unsophisticated and glassfibre aura (and aroma) of the Scimitar could not really hold it’s own against these cars in absolute terms, never mind the lack of positive image and truly modern engineering. The writing was on the wall, and the recession of the early 1980s really took its toll.
Just short of 5000 Scimitar SE6 variants were sold in ten years, but only 437 of the 2.8 litre SE6b from 1980 to 1986. Production of the GTE and GTC ceased in 1986. Princess Anne had the last one.
There was an attempt of restart production. Reliant sold the design to the Middlebridge Company in Nottingham who intended to produce 300 cars a year. Various changes were made: the V6 went to 2.9 litres as Ford increased the capacity for the Scorpio, central locking, electric mirrors, colour coded bumpers (as the black ones were now unavailable) and rear anti-roll bar (sway bar) were fitted. Biggest change was probably a five speed or four speed automatic gearbox, from Ford.
In the event 77 (or 78 some say) cars were built, including serial number 5 for Princess Anne, her ninth Scimitar and a car which she still has. The Middlebridge Company failed in 1990, through an unrelated legal case, and the Scimitar finally died.
One prototype idea that did not make production was a four wheel drive Scimitar, using the same Ferguson technology as used on the Jensen FF, derived from the Interceptor. This was an engineering exercise, between Reliant, Ferguson and component supplier GKN to prove the concept of four wheel drive and promote their respective skills.
The changes were surprisingly wide ranging, with new engine and gearbox mountings required as well as a repositioned steering rack and larger wheels. It remained a one-off and actually sat quietly in the back of Reliant’s factory for several years. It was recently sold at auction for £13,000, probably twice what any other Scimitar would cost.
In reality, by 1986 one of Britain’s more charismatic and individual low volumes cars had gone, and whilst never a great car on an outright objective basis, the appeal is easy to see and you can understand that for many it would be sufficient to overcome the failings of the car, such as the mundane power unit, imprecise handling, build quality and materials (panel gaps and the smell of glue were always there for example). Seeing a car with bodywork damaged by the rear wiper was not unusual.
But it was certainly had, has, an enduring charisma. Ask Paul, my friend of 38 years. He’s got four, though that’s not as many as Princess Anne.
And he hasn’t been caught speeding in one either.
Great article, and it shows that a cottage industry like Reliant could come up with a worldbeater. It’s fascinating that Princess Anne probably could have any car she wanted but she chose a series of GTEs. By the way, here’s a picture of the Ogle Scimitar GTE’s nose – very tidy.
Excellent bio on the Scimitar. Thank you Roger. In spite of its great endorsement by Princess Anne, for me the Volvo P1800 Estate Wagon remains the quintessential sport wagon of this style type, with its lovely curves and detailing, with elegant proportions. Whereas the Volvo could be called beautifully integrated, the Scimitar is not. Like a variety of English styling from that era, it looks unfinished, with odd proportions and busy details. As if a mid stage prototype was released for sale. A steeper rake on the front clip and windscreen could have made it look more sporty and exclusive. On the later models, wheel arch shapes and body detailing suitable for an economy sedan. Paddle door handles so often look cheap, as they do here. To me, it looks like a kit car in many ways. Genuinely hate to be harsh, but I find it such a wasted design opportunity.
The handling of the design of the C pillar and lower rear side windows is reminiscent of the similar detailing on the garish (to me) Intermeccanica Murena sport wagon.
For me the Lancia Beta HPE was the best looking vehicle of this type. The Volvo ES has some exquisite detailing but looks unbalanced as the rear side windows at too long.
I always saw the Scimitar as a down market Lotus Elite. I wonder if Princess Anne ever considered the Elite…
The Volvo I think suffered a little bit from trying to marry the new tail to the basically ’50s vintage shell. In sum it worked quite well, but there are point and angles where you think, “Had to leave that whether you wanted it or not, huh?”
Interesting variety of opinions here. The original Scimitar coupe looked pretty good until the GTE came along. A younger cousin owned an older coupe which I rode in once. I never got close to a GTE and my budget sadly didn’t stretch to one.Styling was wonderful – the later SE6 somehow lost the perfection of the original. In later years there was a Volvo 1800ES in the extended family. Great looking compared to the regular 1800, but couldn’t hold a candle to the GTE, and I had a perception that headroom was marginal in the Volvo. The Lancia was a nice copy, but not a match.
I never understood the criticism of those door handles – they were surely the most reliable part of the Allegro and Marina ?
AMC used the same style of door handles for years. Come to think of it, the used the same concept for the Gremlin, just all-steel and in a different market segment.
I would guess that this is one of those cars that changes your opinion of it after a drive. I agree with AntiSuv in that the Lancia is the most attractive of the cars considered to be the Reliant’s competition here. But the Lancia brand suffered greatly in the U.K. for its reputation for rusting.
For whatever reason, the car that might have really given the Scimitar a run for the money was not mentioned, the Datsun/Nissan Z car.
From looking at the Scimitar over it’s lifetime, in its many models, I have always wondered why Reliant never sprang for updated headlights. I am not sure it would have improved the looks, but no one (not even Ogle?) considered rectangular headlights or going to one/aerodynamic unit per side? If any one element dates the later cars it’s the quad round headlights, at least in my opinion.
Referring to the GTE, I see so many small design details that appear dated or poorly executed, even by 1978 standards of the major car makers. Look at how the finish of the windshield molding is handled. Thick black visible rubber molding (besides the chrome insert), with broad curved corners. Not the tight corner curves seen on many modern 1970s cars. This windshield finishing looking worthy of the 1960s. Or among current late 70s cars, the Chevette. But even the Chevette has cleaner handling of molding details. The way the bumper chrome trim goes up and around the licence plate conforming to something so mundane as the plates seems so unnecessarily busy visually. Even cheesier than on the Mustang II. It looks gimmicky, and a larger design team likely would have seen this and eliminated it. The tiny hood opening is dated for the late 70s. So, 1950s/60s. The extra thick chrome rear window molding. Why so heavy handed and obvious? Perhaps reflective of a dated window installation. These are just what I see in the pics.
Perhaps I’m very wrong, but I find these are telltale signs of a small company struggling to compete with the manufacturing resources of the big companies. And having to use dated technology to save costs to compete.
A nice surprise, Roger – a 70s British car story that is not a woeful tale of errors and omissions. I kind of like these. I do not find it objectively beautiful, but it has a certain charm about it. So I guess I have Royal tastes? 🙂
Or eras and emissions. Getting caught a generation behind and without the technology to be able to sell in the US or have competitive power here cost them a lot of sales in the 70s. By the 80s, they basically weren’t even here.
Mention the name Reliant and most people would probably think Chrysler K-car.
Right,, even us CC’ers would think of a Plymouth Reliant, made by the millions over time. Nice write up, though, of cars never seen here in the US of A.
Say Reliant in the UK and it’s usually the three-wheeled Robin that springs to mind:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ee/Reliant_Robin_ca_1974_green_in_Ely.jpg
or a certain van from Peckham:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/cars/classic/del-boys-reliant-regal-van-sale/
I only learned of the Plymouth Reliant’s existence through this website. I’m still trying to erase it from memory.
Scimitars, Robin’s, Rialtos, I grew up with.
Then again, say you bought a K-car and it’d probably be 50/50 whether you meant an ’80s front-drive Mopar or a used JDM microcar allowed in under the 25-year rule.
There’s a lot of points of similarity between a Reliant Robin and, say, a Suzuki Alto Works RS-R from the ’80s, they both were built to fit unique legal requirements of their home markets and are a similar overall size and weight. Just that one is a bonkers little four-seater go kart and the other is missing a wheel.
What I find amazing is that well into the 80s tiny British car manufacturers (Reliant, Bond, TVR, Jensen, etc.) could still make a go of it, while the rest of the world was relying on mass production.
Commenters are comparing the Scimitar with the Volvo 1800ES and Lancia Beta HPE. It’s fair, I suppose, because all were low-volume shooting brakes. To be fair, though, The Volvo was a low-dollar redesign of a car designed in the late 50s and the Scimitar GTE was a modification of the coupe from the early 60s, while the Lancia was designed in the (very) early 70s. Yes, I think the Beta HPE was the most successful design, but it’s hardly a fair comparison, given the much bigger design budget that FIAT gave to Lancia than the other two were working with.
From what I read the Japanese makers did to the British car industry what they did to the motorcycle industry. They brought better made, better value products that consumers chose over domestic manufacturers. I am amazed by the automotive cottage industry that survived in the U.K. for so long.Somehow they managed to stay mostly solvent building such small quantities of cars. They did produce some interesting cars like the Marcos and the Gordon Keeble. I like the Scimitar, It looks like a fun little car, roomier and more practical than my old Datsun 280Z 2+2. Here’s a picture of the Gordon Keeble, love the name!
Very nice write-up!
I owned a 1969 Reliant Scimitar GTE about 15 years ago. Mine was a project level car that never got finished but very neat cars.
Reliant is quite an interesting company – I have the Don Pither book somewhere in collection.
As a bit of trivia, in a TV adaptation of one of Dick Francis’ horse racing mysteries the central character drove a Scimitar GTE fitted with an early mobile phone.
Always had a soft spot for these. And I can see why Princess Anne had a thing for them. It was distinctive and made in small quantities. And not snooty. Good choice, good taste.
I’m surprised how few were built – my memory tells me they were a fairly common sight during my 80s childhood.
What I’d love to dig up someday is a history of Ogle Design. They seemed to have their fingers in a lot of pies regarding the British Transportation industry, and my understanding is that they did a lot more than just motor vehicles.
Unfortunately, if you’re a lover of British motorcycles, Ogle Design is a spitting subject. It was their very unsuccessful styling of the ’69 Triumph Trident and BSA Rocket III that was the final nail in the coffin of those two bikes once the Honda CB750K0 came out. Not helped by the redesign pushing back a bike that could have come out (looking like a three cylindered Triumph Bonneville) back in 1966. Accounts have never differentiated who was the most to blame for the holdup: Ogle or BSA management.
And . . . . . lest we forget, the Raleigh Chopper bicycle.
I had an old one a few years ago – the electrics were very “sensitive” . If it was raining the headlights would come on when you switched on the heater fan.
Sounds like a freightshaker Columbia i drove for a while turn the wipers on the lights went out press a window switch and the lights went to high beam it was weird but it was a rental so it went back.
I’m not very familiar with the Reliant Scimitar, so this was a nice diversion this morning. When I first looked at the photos, I saw a bit of 70’s Ford (Mercury) Capri in the cars and wondered if one influenced the other. After reading your post, it appears they did.
While not really a fan of these cars in particular, I do miss the kind of gnarly, home-brewed styles of car that each country and region used to generate. Now that were in the era of the SUVopoly in every part of the world, these cars have become even more dear.
At first glance, I took it for a Ford Capri as well.
The lead photo, from that angle, bears some resemblance to the European Ford Capri Mk II.
A nice writeup, Roger. Since these are very, very rare in the States, never having been officially imported, they’re the sort of thing that’s easy for an American observer to find fascinating, like the Ford Capri Mk3 we never got, or perhaps the Rover P5 3½ Litre.
On its own terms, I feel like the Scimitar GTE is kind of an 80 percent car: a neat concept with a lot of strong points, but also some significant shortcomings it would be hard to overlook in daily use (some clumsy detailing, GRP creak and outgassing, etc.). It’s an idea I like enough to wish it were executed better than it was.
The Vintage.es tumblr just published some good pix of the Reliant three-wheelers.
https://www.vintag.es/2019/01/reliant-regal.html