The Reliant Sabre, also called the Sabre Four, and the Reliant Sabre Six were small two-seater sports cars produced by Reliant between 1961 and 1964. They came about through a collaboration with the Israeli company Autocars, and they led directly to the Reliant Scimitar.
Reliant Sabre at a glance
| Production | 1961–1964, Tamworth |
|---|---|
| Bodies | convertible and coupé |
| Sabre engine | 1,703 cc Ford four-cylinder |
| Sabre power | 73 bhp (54 kW) |
| Sabre top speed | at least 90 mph (140 km/h) |
| Sabre production | 208 cars |
| Sabre Six engine | 2,553 cc Ford six-cylinder |
| Sabre Six power | 109 bhp (81 kW) |
| Sabre Six acceleration | 0–60 mph in 12.2 seconds |
| Sabre Six top speed | 110 mph (180 km/h) |
| Sabre Six production | 77 cars, 75 coupés and two convertibles |
| Gearbox | ZF all-synchro |
The article follows the English Wikipedia page on the Sabre. Based on one source. Free photographs of the model are not available.
History of the Reliant Sabre
From the Sabra to the Sabre
The car was developed in collaboration with the Israeli motor company Autocars, after its managing director Itzhak Shubinsky visited the 1960 London Racing Car Show, where he saw the Ashley 1172 fibreglass body and a Leslie Ballamy-designed chassis, the EB Debonair, exhibited on the LMB Components stand. Autocars obtained licences for both parts and contracted Reliant to develop the Sabra for Autocars; Reliant introduced a right-hand drive version for the UK market and renamed it the Sabre. At Reliant, David Page redesigned the chassis and the bodyshell was redesigned by Eddie Pepall to meet US requirements.
The Sabre was launched in 1961 as a two-door convertible, front-engined and rear-driven, with a four-cylinder overhead-valve Ford Consul engine of 1,703 cc, later known as the Zephyr 4 unit. It had front disc brakes, rack and pinion steering and a ZF all-synchro gearbox, and its front suspension was an unusual leading-arm set-up. Power output was 73 bhp (54 kW), giving at least 90 mph (140 km/h). Coupés were introduced in June 1962, and total production of the four-cylinder car reached 208. At Earls Court in October 1962 the Sabre was shown with a redesigned, “less bizarre” front end, and a six-cylinder Super Sabre SE2 prototype was shown alongside it.
The Sabre Six
In 1962 the Reliant Sabre Six was introduced, with a 109 bhp (81 kW) six-cylinder Ford engine of 2,553 cc. It was capable of 110 mph (180 km/h) and reached 60 mph in 12.2 seconds. The nose was different from that of the earlier Sabres, and all but the first 17 Sabre Sixes had more conventional suspension taken from the Triumph TR4. Of a production total of 77, 75 were coupés and just two were convertibles.
Rallying
Reliant’s competitions department modified three factory cars and three privateer cars for entry into a number of international rallies. The modifications included a Raymond Mays alloy cylinder head with triple twin-choke Weber carburettors and independently branched exhaust manifolds. Between 1963 and 1965 the cars took part in the Alpine Rally, the RAC Rally, the Welsh Rally and the Monte Carlo Rally.
After the Sabre
The Sabra and Sabre gave Reliant experience of a glass-fibre sports car with a separate chassis, and the company used the Sabre’s chassis as the basis for its next sports car: the Scimitar GT of 1964 was built on a Sabre chassis with a body derived from an Ogle design for Daimler. The Sabre also had a life in fiction: Modesty Blaise drove a Sabre Six in the book I, Lucifer.
Design and features
- Fibreglass two-seater: a light body on a separate chassis, developed with Autocars of Israel.
- Ford power: the 1,703 cc four in the Sabre and the 2,553 cc six in the Sabre Six.
- Sports car running gear: front disc brakes, rack and pinion steering and a ZF gearbox.
- Rally pedigree: works and privateer cars competed in the Alpine, RAC, Welsh and Monte Carlo rallies.
Reliant Sabre versions
- Sabre convertible (1961–1964): the original open two-seater with the 1,703 cc engine.
- Sabre coupé (from June 1962): a closed version of the same car.
- Sabre with revised nose (from October 1962): a “less bizarre” front end.
- Sabre Six (1962–1964): the 2,553 cc six with a different nose and Triumph TR4 suspension.
- Super Sabre SE2 prototype (1962): the show car that became the Sabre Six.
The Sabre’s chassis went on to underpin the Reliant Scimitar, and the factory also built the three-wheeled Reliant Regal. More cars are in the Reliant collection.
Video: Buying a Reliant Sabre
Video on YouTube.
Sources
- Reliant Sabre, English Wikipedia: development, engines, production, rallying
