Filed under: Convertible, Budget, Hybrid, Europe, Rumormill, Diesel
We know this is about as likely as a Clenet going for above reserve at auction, but it looks as if Reliant might just be making a come back. For those that don't know, Reliant is a British marquee most famous for making the three-wheeled Robin. Er, let's make that infamous, as in the UK the Robin plays the roll of the Yugo-i.e. the car-butt of jokes. It's also the car James May and Richard Hammond tried to launch into space.
However, Reliant built more than just cheap, three-wheeled junk (sorry Robin fans). They also built the mighty Scimitar. Powered by a relatively potent 3.0-liter Ford Essex V6 (at least during the latter part of the 1970s), the shooting-brake Scimitar was something of a British Camaro. In other words, a muscle car for the average bloke. And both Reliants might just be making a comeback.
Turns out that MG (yes, that MG) is looking to revive the brand. For there part Reliant has been out of the new car making business since the last Robin rolled off the assembly line in 2001. MG's plans include a Smart ForTwo, Scion iQ fighting city car that would get badged as Robin. Not only will it feature a single front-wheel, but the new Robin will be powered by a 1.1-liter three-cylinder biodiesel hybrid that will be able to schlep around town running off nothing but electricity and then switch over to burnt oil for highway cruising.
Perhaps more interesting (if not feasible) is the new Scimitar. The proposed new car will be built off the mid-engine, rear-wheel drive MG TF and should ship as a plastic-bodied soft top. A 1.4-liter motor will produce about 110 hp - not a ton of power, but the new Scimitar should be pretty light and only cost about £10,000. That's very cheap, considering that a 1.4-liter Honda Civic Si sells for over £16K in Britain. As Dean Moriarty might have said, nothing beats cheap kicks, man. Finally, we have about as much chance of seeing either car on this side of the Atlantic as England does of rebuilding her empire.
[Source: pistonheads.com | Image: Flickr]
Rumormill: UK's Reliant planning new Scimitar and Robin models? originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 07 Apr 2010 10:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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