by Mike Gulett –
This sports car demonstrates why talented car designers have always been in demand. The body style can make the difference between success and, not success in building a car. It is not the only factor but it certainly helps.
The British company Reliant Motor Company developed this car in collaboration with the Israeli company Autocars. There were a total of 208 made between 1961 and 1964.
The USA received 153 examples and 55 were shipped to the UK as the Sabre instead of Sabra.
The engine in this 1962 Sabra Sport is a 1,701 cc Ford Consul 4-cylinder producing 73 hp and the body is fiberglass.
A later model called the Reliant Sabre Six produced 109 hp from a 2,553 cc six-cylinder Ford engine.
This is not really an attractive car especially the front and maybe this explains why it was not so popular and why most of us have never heard of it before. Of course beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Let us know what you think in the Comments.
This was originally published in November 2013.
Yes , if you look at some of the old Iso Rivolta motor show pictures you can see the Sabra sign in the background.
But did you see a Sabra car?
yes, and they made a sedan too. A few have come up for sale on ebay over the past year
It’s not a hideous looking car. In fact it has nice cues that were ruined by proportions – the huge overhangs make this car look heavy and almost cartoonish. The boomerangs on the front would look much better in the front corners in horizontal positions rather than grossly oversized hood hinges. Who designed the exterior?
I agree for the time period it was pretty good. Sort of a Devin up front and a Damiler in back.
It’s no E-Type, but it’s a bit less weird than the Daimler SP250, though the front goes way beyond the headlights, making it look… different. I wouldn’t turn it–or the Daimler–down. I’m 47 and I’ve heard of it since I was a kid but never saw one.
Mike, anyone who spend hours in the library going through old car books knows the Sabra. Many had their ZF gearbox “stolen” for use in a Lotus Elite. A now deceased friend restored one in NJ back in the ’90s. An interesting car with odd styling.
Nice cars!!!
I been racing Sabra roadster and a Sabra coupe in the past 25 years. The cars draw attention and they are crowd pleaser.
you can find more information in the following web sites:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabra_%28car%29
http://sabra.be/GB/GBindex.htm
http://www.sabra.be/
http://www.sporting-reliants.com/Sabra.htm
http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images?_adv_prop=image&fr=yfp-t-900&va=jacob+shalit+sabra#index=frame
http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images?_adv_prop=image&fr=yfp-t-900&va=jacob+shalit+sabra#index=frame
http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images?_adv_prop=image&fr=yfp-t-900&va=jacob+shalit+sabra#index=frame
Put that terrible looking convertable top down and lose the gangster whitewalls and it would look much better.
Sabra is the generic model from the Israeli auto manufacturer, Autocars. There have been many, many Sabras over the years, not all of them sports cars. I remember going to the top of the World Trade Center in about 1978, and they had an exhibit of products from all over the world. One thing on exhibit was a Sabra solar-powered electric car from Israel. It had photovoltaic cells on the roof and hood and decklid to charge the batteries. I don’t know how many were made or sold, but at that time, just a few years after the ’73-’74 oil embargo, a lot of independent companies were trying to get away from gasoline and diesel, especially in Israel, which imports almost all of its oil supplies. I don’t know what happened with that Sabra in Israel, but once the price of gas dropped back down again, most of those companies went under. Except for now, it is a cycle I have seen over and over again over the years regarding electric vehicles. Glenn in the Bronx, NY
Mike, I’ve now looked at Jacob’s links, which have lots of great pictures. Not only do you get to see the same car from different angles, you can see the short nosed car, a coupe, and the same car but without those chrome boomerangs in front. It is actually quite attractive and the other variations are quite nice, too. Thank you, Jacob, for those great links.
It appears that I am the only one in the My Car Quest group who knows nothing about this car. I love learning from all of you.
No offense to you owners like Jacob but I still think it is un-attractive. The history is interesting though.
The car that I photographed here is the only one I have seen and it was in excellent condition.
Ho una sabra che sto sistemando
I have one in Ohio, a convertible. Neat car! A coupe sold at Amelia for over $93,000 this last year! So not everyone considers them unattractive!
Simon Roffey image
I think the Sabra is and always was adorable. A V-8 or a V-6 would have made it competitive. It’s’ stying has passed the test of time though. I’ve had Cobras, a Cheetah and a Ford GT-40 replica, so I can appreciate a style like the Sabra too.
There are many more cars with a worst style, the Sabra is very attractive for me, as I’m not that excited by very well visually balanced cars.
Just check one terrible example of a brazilian VW Gol, absolutely horrible for me, but adored by many people over there.