Reliant Scimitar SS1

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DON’T JUDGE A BOOK BY THE COVER

Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder goes the old saying and certainly Reliant’s Scimitar SS1 turns heads – albeit for the wrong reasons. Penned by Bill Towns, who styled the lovely Aston Martin DBS would you credit, the Reliant looks like a kit car gone wrong. However, underneath those quirky looks lurks a highly competent old school sports car that. fittingly, carries on where the Frog-eye Sprite left off.

Initially Escort Mk3-powered (1.4/1.6-litre), the design came only good when relaunched as the Sabre with Nissan turbo power and more acceptable styling, although it’s still no looker. Inexpensive fun is the car’s main attraction – what is it they say about judging a book by it cover? Well, don’t in this case.