Reliant Scimitar SS1 History

The Scimitar SS1, launched at the 1984 British International Motor Show, was a small fibreglass two-seat sports roadster — and the final design of Italian stylist Giovanni Michelotti. It used Ford CVH fours (1.3, later 1.4, and 1.6 litres); from 1986 a 1.8-litre turbocharged Nissan CA18ET (from the Silvia) gave the 1800Ti version around 135 bhp.

In 1990 the car was facelifted and renamed the SST, restyled by William Towns (the 'T' in 'SST'), and in 1992 relaunched as the Scimitar Sabre, which ran to 1995. Against a planned 2,000 a year, only about 1,507 of the whole SS1/SST/Sabre family were built across roughly ten years — Reliant's last sports car.