A “sabra” is a Jewish person born in Israel. So, it’s appropriate that the carmaker applied the name to the country’s only sports car, the Sabra Sport.
Sabra built only 354 of these little gems, and 153 came to the US. The pristine 1962 example on eBay has a $74,900 Buy-It-Now price. Remarkably, the car located in St. Louis has only 802 miles on the odometer. It’s a California black-plate car that’s virtually never been used.
This car has less than 1,000 miles and is probably the best Sabra convertible in the world.
This could be the best example of the Sabra convertible in the world. The Antique Automobile Club of America awarded the roadster with four awards, including an AACA Senior Grand National Award.
The distinction is well deserved. It’s correct in every detail, with a rare hardtop, chrome knock-off wire wheels, and a Nardi steering wheel. It comes with a set of relevant books and manuals. The car, resplendent in gleaming red with a matching interior, was recently acquired from the personal collection of an (unnamed) billionaire owner.
British Heritage
Sabra coupes and convertibles in the heyday of Autocars LTD
If the Sabra looks like the British roadsters of the early 1960s, there’s a reason for that. The colorful Reliant Motors of Tamworth, Staffordshire produced the first 100 units. Reliant also produced such exotics as the three-wheeled Bond Bug and Reliant Robin—not to mention the sporty Scimitar SS1.
All 100 went directly to the US without actually even visiting Israel. The original price was $2,995, about $500 more than a contemporary MGA. Reliant also built its own version, the Reliant Sabre, between 1961 and 1963.
The parent company was Autocars LTD, founded by Yitzhak Shubinsky in the late 1950s. The beginnings were modest. This was Israel’s first automaker, but the products weren’t homemade. They were small boxy sedans produced under license from Japan’s Hino and Britain’s Triumph. Government agencies were required to buy them out of patriotism.
International Flavors
The Sabra brand was different. Shubinsky showed an underpowered pickup at the New York Auto Show in 1960. When that didn’t garner the desired praise and attention, he pivoted to the Sabra Sport that made it to the same show a year later.
The Sabra coupe and convertible—capable of 91 mph, with zero to 60 taking 16 seconds—was Israeli but also genuinely international. Some 27 vendors supplied parts for the Sabra.
- Britain’s Ashley Laminates made the fiberglass bodies
- Leslie Ballamy, the British inventor and automotive engineer, designed the chassis
- Reliant engineered the 1.7-liter, 110-horsepower engines (Ford UK produced the mills)
- Germany’s ZF supplied the four-speed transmission
- UK-based Austin provided the brakes
- Italy’s Alfa-Romeo offered the taillights
For this reason, parts for the Sabra shouldn’t be that hard to find—provided you know who made what. eBay has all the parts you need to rebuild that Ford Consul motor. And whole cars if you need a donor. Builders will need to search harder for body parts. But this car is made of fiberglass—no rust! eBay also has parts for the Reliant Sabre.
A Great Survival Rate
After that first 100, the Israeli automaker sent an additional 48 to the port of Haifa for assembly and export. Finally, the next 58 were produced for Israel’s domestic market. A bunch of them went to Belgium for some reason.
Unfortunately, the Six-Day War in 1967 meant the end of production. But the company delivered some of the cars already in the pipeline as late as 1969. Survival is amazingly good. One hundred of them are reportedly still extant (with a big contingent in Belgium).
It’s not surprising that this car for sale on eBay has a “stunning undercarriage” and “runs and drives like new” since it’s almost never been on the road. That situation is likely to change as soon as the new owner gets the keys.
