A Car So Obscure, Even I've Never Heard Of It

[Eric]

Autoweek's vintage car article this week is on the Irish built/Austin powered Shamrock. I thought I knew every obscure car built since WWII, but this is a new one on me. Not hard to see why it remained obscure 'tho.... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

https://www.autoweek.com/article.cms?articleId=101962

 

[vagt6]

Strange car, and I'm sure Ralph Nader would have gone ballistic over it's rollover characteristics!

 

[Sherlock]

Sorry to be smug... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif But I've heard of that car before... A very low production Irish car (never really attained series production as such), a very interesting looking car as well. [All that without looking in one of my books or that articles]

Now I'll go look at the article...

 

[aeronca65t]

You know, I've studied various Irish-built cars (and aircraft) over the years, and I've never heard of that one either.

Most of the cars I've seen have been "specials", kit-cars and some knock-down cars developed elsewhere.

The only "real" Irish production cars as far as I know have been the DeLorean and the Crosslé formula cars.

That Shamrock is ugly!

 

[Guest]

It looks sorta like one of those amphibicars to me, very boat like, especially the front end.

 

[sammyb]

While I had seen the name before, I had never seen a picture of one before. Yeah, that's obscure.

Funny thing is that I'll probably see that car within a year or so, now that it is in Seattle.

Definitely not my cup of tea.

 

[Guest]

Hey, speaking of obscure cars, I've got one I never heard of before although I'm sure some people around here probably have. I was over at my buddies shop a few months back and he had a car in getting a fuel pump repaired. It was a Sabra GT, never seen one of these before. Israeli built, can't remember the year but early 60's, some type of British built Ford 4 cylinder I believe with a ZF four speed. My friend told me alot of people hacked the cars up just to get the transmission for transplants into other sportscars. It had this weird front suspension setup, sort of like a trailing arm rear but pointed the wrong way, forwards. Overall it was a pretty car, except for the hideously large chromed front bumpers that stuck out like ram spikes. If it didn't have that it would have been completely gorgeous. Nice interior also and he had the optional factory hardtop and chromed wire wheels. Anyway, I thought it was a cool car, unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me so I couldn't get any pictures. This car was fully restored though, I'd say if not concours quality then extremely close to it. My friend told me the owner was trying to sell it, asking for something near 30K. Don't know if he ever sold it or not. Info on the web on these cars seems a little thin but apparently there is a club for them somewhere in my area.

 

[piman]

Hello Scott,

The Sabra, or in the U.K., Sabre, was a Reliant, who also made three wheelers and the more well known Scimitar and G.T.E.
I can't remember what the Israeli connection was about but it was a Reliant who's factory was in Tamworth.

Alec

 

[sammyb]

The Sabra was assembled in Israel. The Sabra was one ugly little car (although some find it cute.) And your friend is right, many of the Sabras were pieced-out, since they were mechanical muts -- many parts from many different manufacturers.

Interestingly, Triumph also assembled cars in Israel.

 

[Biffy]

Well that is an interesting looking car! I have never heard of it either, let alone seen one.

 

[78Z]

Oddly some of the early Sabras had front swing axle suspension!

 

[Sherlock]

The Sabra GT... Looks like this...

The Sabra (assembled by Reliant) preceded the Reliant Sabre sports car by a couple of years, but both were virtually identical. Odd fact, I understand that Sabra sports cars never even touched Israeli soil, being shipped straight from England to North America

 

[Guest]

Yep Sherlock, thats the ticket. Except the one I saw in the shop had the huge chrome bumpers that I mentioned earlier. Looks like they probably fit over those little verticle ridges just to the inside of the parking lamps on the car in your photo. I can't tell if the car in this photo has a removable or fixed top. The one I saw had a removable hardtop with a normal ragtop underneath.

I know Sam thought it ugly, I still think it's kind of nice looking. To each his own right, unusual car just the same. I remember the Sabra emblem was a cactus, were the Reliants the same?