1974 Reliant Scimitar GTE

Lot details
Registration No: GPC491N
Chassis No: 93X5296
Mot Expiry: March 2011

The Scimitar GT of 1964 resulted from a collaboration between Reliant and Ogle Design. Two years later, Triplex commissioned Ogle to build a project car through which they could promote their laminated sundym glass. Ogle opted to base the resulting estate-bodied Triplex GTS on the Scimitar GT, and it was this car (later owned by the Duke of Edinburgh) that eventually spawned the Scimitar GTE. Launched at the Earls Court motorshow of 1968, the four-seat, glassfibre-bodied GTE (SE5) could initially be bought with either a straight six 2.5-litre or V6 3.0-litre Ford engine linked to a manual gearbox. Early revisions included the dropping of the smaller engine and the option of Borg Warner automatic transmission. For 1972, the V6 engine was endowed with an additional 7 bhp - it would now power the GTE to 60mph in around 9.3 seconds and on to a top speed of over 120 mph. It was this revised (SE5A) version of the Reliant that was to prove the most popular, with some 6,600 being produced between 1972 and the introduction of the reshaped, more luxurious but less successful (SE6) model introduced in 1975.

The RHD manual GTE offered is an SE5A example built in 1974. It is finished in white and sports a tan vinyl interior. It was apparently thoroughly restored by Scimitar specialist Graham Walker in 1988 and has covered less than 15,000 miles since (and only 1,100 in the last eight years). The work is said to have included a full respray, engine overhaul, gearbox and overdrive service and refurbishment of the suspension. The car has apparently been equipped with a stainless steel exhaust system and fuel tank and runs on unleaded fuel. The history file contains MOTs back to 1990 and log books to 1977. The vendor believes but does not warrant the displayed mileage of 33,800 to be correct and rates the vehicle's gearbox, electrical equipment, interior trim, bodywork and paintwork as 'very good', while he describes the engine as 'excellent'. The current MOT runs into March 2011. The GTE was a big success for Reliant - a company previously best known for their three-wheelers. Its specification was more than a match for its mass-produced rivals, plus a level of panache they generally lacked.