The British company Reliant made the Reliant Scimitar Estate Wagon GT from 1964 to 1984. Through those years, there were many evolutions to the Reliant Scimitar. It was even re-launched eventually as a smaller vehicle. The very first Reliant Scimitar was made as a coupe that was based on a prototype model. The basis for the 1964 Reliant Scimitar Estate Wagon GT was a Daimler SP250. For the chassis of the early Reliant Scimitar, it shared the same chassis as the Reliant Sabre. Using a 2.6 L Ford straight six-cylinder engine, it made the car powerful. The makers of the Reliant Scimitar always had the economy in mind. In order to lessen the cost in production and to be able to compete against the other carmakers, a great number of parts used on the Reliant Scimitar were already used for other car models.
Transition to V6 Engine
There were a number of transitions in the engine used for the Reliant Scimitar. The SE4A and the SE4B engine models are some of the six-cylinder engines used for the car. From 1964 to 1967, for the first generation of Reliant Scimitar, it went from having a straight six-cylinder engine to a V6 3.0 engine.
Reliant Scimitar came from the necessity to have a replacement for the Scimitar Sabre. The Managing director of the company during that time went to a 1962 Motor show and saw the OGLE SX250. Designed by David Ogle based on the existing chassis of the Daimler Dart SP250, it made everything cheap as they no longer need to pay a designer to do things from scratch. Daimler didn’t use the design for any of their models. It was then the company decided to purchase the rights to the design. This move proved to be a smart decision for the company since it has used the design for several years.
By 1966, Ford decided to scrap the engine that is being used on the Reliant Scimitar. This means that the company needs to make sure that they do all the necessary research for the next Scimitar Estate Wagon GT cars to accommodate the new V6 engine.
This prompted the company to stick with a new Essex engine which was shorter. It was a great choice for the company as it was even used for further variants of the Reliant Scimitar. In the 1967 version, it was in the form of a 2.5-liter V6 engine.
Higher Market
By the early 70s, there were changes made in terms of the packaging of the car. The company tried to approach the executive market promoting a two-door sports estate vehicle. The company, yet again, utilized a Ford V6 engine.
With improved suspension and enhanced stability, this became an instant favorite to many individuals. By 1980, Ford decided to stop the production of the Essex engine. Instead, the company utilized the Cologne engine that provided the same power but less torque. This provided better durability in terms of the Scimitar’s performance.
In 1987, the Reliant Scimitar Estate Wagon GT was bought by Middlebridge. This company is based in Beeston Nottingham and it eventually modified the car up until 1990. After Middlebridge owned the rights to the Scimitar, it was eventually passed to Graham Walker Ltd.