Launched in 1984 at the Motor Show in Birmingham, the Reliant Scimitar SS1 was a two-seater open-topped sports car and was intended to combine the appealing features of the "traditional" British sports car - fun, relatively cheap, two-seater wind-in-the-hair motoring - with a sensible choice of modern, more reliable mechanical components and increased refinement.

The "Small Sports 1" featured independent suspension and back-bone chassis with a front-mounted Ford CVH engine driving the rear wheels, and switchgear and dash gauges from Austin-Rover.

The car on display here is a 1989 Reliant Scimitar SS1 with the 1392cc Ford CVH engine. Being a post-1986 example, it is fitted with a galvanised chassis. Reliant collapsed in 1995.