Reliant Scimitar GTE SE6 Manual Overdrive

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Reliant was well-known from the ‘50s through to the ‘70s for producing small, lightweight glass fibre vehicles, usually having just three wheels which gave them a rather quaint appearance.

There were a couple of four-wheelers, the Rebel and the Kitten, but these didn’t stand much of a chance against the superb BMC Minis of the period. So it came as rather a shock when Reliant (quite out of character and in collaboration with a company called Autocars in Israel) launched a small high-performance two-seat sports car called the Sabre in 1961, which was built in Tamworth until 1964.

However, the car that really surprised the motoring establishment was the Sabre’s replacement, a handsome, high-performance glass-fibre sports car launched in 1964, which became known as the Scimitar. The first Scimitar, the GT SE4 Coupe had a 2.6-litre straight-six engine and remained in production until 1970, but the really popular model was the Tom Karen-designed GTE SE5 which came out in 1968.

It’s not often that a four-seat derivative of a sports car is regarded as aesthetically more pleasing than the original design, but this was the case with the GTE which had elegant ‘shooting brake’ bodywork. Popularised by Princess Anne in the 1970s (she owned at least eight, all with the registration number 1420 H), the Reliant Scimitar remains one of the most practical classics that money can buy. Powered by the trusty Ford 3.0 V6 engine and box, this sporting estate offers a huge amount of style and versatility for very little money.

The original SE5 was replaced by the SE5A in September 1972 which had a revised interior fascia, different rear lights with integral reversing lamps and indicators, and a slightly more powerful engine which made it good for 0-60 in 8.5 seconds and a top speed of 121mph. In 1976 this was in turn replaced by the wider and heavier SE6. In 1977 it gained improved brakes and suspension and became the SE6A before morphing into the final SE6B with a less-torquey 2.8-litre Cologne engine. Production of all models came to an end in 1986.

This August 1978 SE6 manual overdrive Scimitar joined the Stondon Collection in 1997 and had just two former keepers before that, according to the V5. It was last taxed and on the road in 1993 and comes with an old style V5 and a current V5C. There is no other paperwork on file.