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Reliant Scimitar GTE - The trendsetter

Name: Reliant Scimitar GTE 1971
Brand: Reliant

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Created on August 10, 2023

Text:

Bruno von Rotz

Photos:

Bruno von Rotz

Archiv

Bruno von Rotz

Archiv

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Reliant Scimitar GTE (1971) - the first sports estate in large numbers

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Reliant Scimitar GTE (1971) - Rear window pulled down to below the edge of the seat

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Reliant Scimitar GTE (1971) - unconventional rear with low-mounted license plate and central fuel filler cap

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Reliant Scimitar GTE (1971) - Only the rear window opens for loading

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Reliant Scimitar GTE (1971) - originally the headlight bezels were painted in body color. This GTE wears eye shadow

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Reliant Scimitar GTE (1971) - The "C" is silent

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Reliant Scimitar GTE (1971) - Pragmatism: The letters on the front lettering are the same as on the back, only further apart

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Reliant Scimitar GTE (1971) - The rear lights are standard Lucas products. To the left is the forced ventilation of the interior

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Reliant Scimitar GTE (1971) - Reduces revs, noise and fuel consumption: the overdrive that can be engaged in 3rd and 4th gear

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Reliant Scimitar GTE (1971) - The alloy wheels were an optional extra first offered in 1971

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Reliant Scimitar GTE (1971) - Characteristic: load compartment window with upswing and roof end with tear-off edge

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Reliant Scimitar GTE (1971) - engine capacity information on the front side panel

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Reliant Scimitar GTE (1971) - reference to the special status as "Grand Tourer Estate" on the B-pillar. Like the engine, the door handles are a Ford part

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Reliant Scimitar GTE (1971) - Between 538 and 1019 liters of cargo fit inside

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Reliant Scimitar GTE (1971) - If the passenger seat is folded forward, even skis can be transported

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Reliant Scimitar GTE (1971) - Sporty, elegant interior with leather upholstery and thick carpets

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Reliant Scimitar GTE (1971) - Wooden steering wheel from Moto-Lita from accessories

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Reliant Scimitar GTE (1971) - Smiths instruments, very classic even without chrome rings

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Reliant Scimitar GTE (1971) - Little legroom on the rear seat bench

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Reliant Scimitar GTE (1971) - Ampèremeter by Lucas, timer with gear regulation and fuel gauge by Smiths

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Reliant Scimitar GTE (1971) - Labeled switches for windshield wipers, heater fan and headlights. In the center the cigar lighter and the switch for the overdrive

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Reliant Scimitar GTE (1971) - Two wing nuts to regulate the heating

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Reliant Scimitar GTE (1971) - The V6 sits so far back that there is still room for the spare wheel in front of it

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Reliant Scimitar GTE (1971) - three-liter V6 with 137 hp and retrofitted K&N air filter

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Reliant Scimitar GTE (1971) - The Essex V6 is hidden under the carburetor, ignition cables, alternator and spare wheel

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Reliant Scimitar GTE (1971) - nameplate with lubricant recommendation

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Reliant Scimitar GTE (1971) - Metal cooling water expansion tank

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Reliant Scimitar GTE (1971) - a line that even won over princesses

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Reliant Scimitar GTE (1971) - Chassis and bodywork

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Reliant Scimitar GTE (1969) - With plenty of space for luggage and a slash between T and E

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Reliant Scimitar GTE (1970) - Borg-Warner 35 automatic transmission as optional equipment at extra cost

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Reliant Scimitar GTE (1970) - shown at the 1970 Geneva Motor Show

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Reliant Scimitar GTE (1970) - now also with automatic transmission

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Reliant Scimitar GTE (1971) - The rear with the new alloy wheels

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Reliant Scimitar GTE (1971) - now also with optional alloy wheels

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Reliant Scimitar GTE (1972) - also popular with ladies

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Reliant Scimitar GTE (1973) - 200 km/h fast Granturismo station wagon

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Reliant Scimitar GTE (1973) - ideal for hobby and leisure use

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Reliant Scimitar GTE (1974) - elegant sports suit

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Reliant Scimitar GTE (1975) - elegant on the roadside

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Reliant Scimitar GTE (1975) - with cool license plate

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Reliant Scimitar GTE (1975) - Will the cello case fit?

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Reliant Scimitar GTE (1975) - In front of the concert hall

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Reliant Scimitar GTE (1976) - stretched and revised

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Reliant Scimitar GTE (1976) - longer, wider, more spacious and with a 75-liter tank

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Reliant Scimitar GTE (1977) - up to 1132 liters load volume

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Reliant Scimitar GTE (1977) - photographed for the press kit of the Swiss importer

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Reliant Scimitar GTE (1977) - front view, photographed for the press kit of the Swiss importer

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Reliant Scimitar GTE (1977) - rear view, photographed for the press kit of the Swiss importer

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$Reliant Scimitar GTE (1977) - longer, wider and more spacious and with Wolfrace wheels$

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Reliant Scimitar GTE (1977) - more space in the rear

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Reliant Scimitar GTE (1977) - with cover for the trunk

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Reliant Scimitar GTE (1977) - revised dashboard with larger center console

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Reliant Scimitar GTE (1977) - revised steering wheel with larger baffle plate

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Reliant Scimitar GTE (1977) - plenty of space in the trunk

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Reliant Scimitar GT (1964) - Presentation at the London Motor Show in Earls Court

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Reliant Scimitar GT (1964) - "every inch a true gran turismo" - statement from the Reliant sales department at the time

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Reliant Scimitar GT (1964) - Interior of the Ogle SX 250 taken over from Reliant

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Summary

A Granturismo sports car with an estate rear end at a reasonable price - something like this had yet to be invented at the end of the 1960s. This is exactly what Tom Karen and Reliant achieved with the Scimitar GTE. Although there had already been a few custom-built "shooting brakes", it was the three-wheeler manufacturer from Tamworth that brought the concept into series production. This article tells the story of the Scimitar GTE and shows it in many current and historical pictures as well as in the sales literature of the time.

This article contains the following chapters

Not the first sports car
Customers need more space
Almost completely new
A versatile sports car
Continuous improvements
Production success

Estimated reading time: 7min

Preview (beginning of the article)

Few visitors to the London Motor Show in the late fall of 1968 had the Reliant brand on their radar. Yet the British car manufacturer had been around since 1935. With the Scimitar GTE, the small company, which manufactured its three- and four-wheeled vehicles in Tamworth, Staffordshire, created a highly acclaimed pioneering achievement: it combined a sports coupé and an estate car to create the "Grand Tourer Estate", or GTE for short. The Reliant Sabre, a roadster with a four-cylinder engine and plastic body, had already been presented in 1961. Despite good facilities, the response was not as positive as hoped, so a new project was soon sought. They came across the Ogle SX 250 prototype and realized that, under its elegant guise, it was not so different from their own Reliant Sabre (SE 2).

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