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Sterling GT - exotic dream car with bread-and-butter technology

Name: Sterling GT 1971
Brand: Sterling

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Created on July 18, 2018

Text:

Bruno von Rotz

Photos:

Daniel Reinhard

Balz Schreier

Archiv

Daniel Reinhard

Balz Schreier

Archiv

48 1

Sterling GT (1971) - the Sterling was only so low after modification of the VW suspensions

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Sterling GT (1971) - show car looks at a budget price

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Sterling GT (1971) - 4.2 meters and almost 1.8 meters wide, but above all less than 1.1 meters high - ideal proportions for a sports car

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Sterling GT (1971) - you don't know where to look ...

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Sterling GT (1971) - the sports car barely reaches adults' waists

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Sterling GT (1971) - should a Volkswagen sit underneath?

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Sterling GT (1971) - Folding headlights and electrically lifting roof cab - inconspicuous would be different

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Sterling GT (1971) - there was little space for luggage

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Sterling GT (1971) - for a four-digit sum, you were there in the seventies

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Sterling GT (1971) - if you have to get out in the rain, you will inevitably get wet

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$Sterling GT (1971) - thick wheels look good on the coupé, the Nova had Wolfrace rims$

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Sterling GT (1971) - the entire roof area of this coupé raises and lowers electrically

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Sterling GT (1971) - still looks futuristic today

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Sterling GT (1971) - hardly anyone recognizes the flat coupé

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Sterling GT (1971) - the rear lights are from the Triumph TR7

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Sterling GT (1971) - you sit low in the coupé

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Sterling GT (1971) - the Hurst shifter for the VW 4-speed gearbox

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Sterling GT (1971) - with eight-track tape recorder

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Sterling GT (1971) - space for two people

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Sterling GT (1971) - to get in, you simply slide under the roof onto the seat

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Sterling GT (1971) - beautiful living - with wooden dashboard

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Sterling GT (1971) - better visibility with the roof raised

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Sterling GT (1971) - ready for departure

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Sterling GT (1971) - sporty and almost reclining seating position in the coupé

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Sterling GT (1971) - dream car of the seventies

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Sterling GT (1971) - external fuel filler cap

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Sterling GT (1971) - View to the rear made more difficult

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Sterling GT (1971) - the roof can be folded upwards for access

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Sterling GT (1971) - no doors, but hinged driver's cab

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Sterling GT (1971) - the Miura rear door was a prop of the time

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Sterling GT (1971) - the body manufacturer's badge

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Sterling GT (1971) - Closure of the roof mechanism

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Nova VW (1972) - the English company offers a spectacularly shaped kit for the Beetle chassis

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The Nova on the cover of "Car and Driver" in March 1973

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A Sterling GT in the movie "Cannonball Run II"

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Gryff (1983) - Swiss "Special", the body comes from Nova, the engines are sourced from Ford or Porsche and have six cylinders each

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Gryff (1983) - the whole roof is lifted up like the Nova to get in

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Nova VW (1972) - in the field of sports and racing cars from the post-war period at the GP Mutschellen 2012

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Summary

When the Sterling GT appears anywhere, open mouths and wide eyes are the normal reaction. The ultra-flat sports car is reminiscent of American concept cars of the sixties, but also of Italian exotics of the seventies. The extravagant body was held together by a plain Beetle chassis and hardly any of the cars had more than four air-cooled cylinders. Better known in this country under the name Nova, the coupés were sold in the States under the name Sterling GT. This report portrays the striking coupé and tells the story of this sensational design.

This article contains the following chapters

Drawn in Great Britain
Successful (also) in America
From Nova to Sterling
Offshoots in many countries
Long life, many metamorphoses
Film career
Living individualism
A survivor
Flat and striking
Further information

Estimated reading time: 8min

Preview (beginning of the article)

When the Sterling GT appears anywhere, open mouths and wide eyes are the normal reaction. The ultra-flat sports car is reminiscent of American concept cars of the sixties, but also of Italian exotics of the seventies. The British kit car scene had actually practically disappeared after the change in tax legislation in the sixties, but the buggy and other plastic bodies for Volkswagen chassis gave the do-it-yourself car a second life. Car designer Richard Oakes also designed one of these buggies, called the "Tramp", which was a success with 75 units sold. However, the open and yet very rustic buggy did not quite satisfy him. Together with his friend Phil Sayers, he began to think about a sports car that would be as technically uncomplicated as a VW-based buggy, but with a much more elegant and exotic body.

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