Description:

This is an online-only auction by Bonhams|Cars Online

This car auction is on www.bonhamscarsonline.com. The price shown is the lower estimate.  To see more details, read the full description and see 200+ photographs & video please visit our www.bonhamscarsonline.com.  It is free to Register an account and bid. There is no Buy it Now or part-exchange. Here is a brief excerpt taken from the auction description;

If you’ve heard of a Reliant Sabre 6, you’re probably a Reliant enthusiast.

If you’ve seen a Sabre 6 in the flesh or actually got behind the wheel of one of the 77 ever built, then you’re in a pretty exclusive club.

But this car?

Well, this is a one-off and utterly unique, and unless you’re truly an aficionado of British motorsport history, you almost certainly won’t know about it.

It was developed by Reliant with a view to entering it into the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race.

Yes, you read that right – a Reliant developed to compete at Le Mans.

It isn’t just a standard Sabre 6 that’s been given some stiffer springs and bucket seats, it’s a fundamental re-imagining of the car with the single-minded intention of building a vehicle capable of competing at Le Mans.

So, this ‘special sports racing car’ - as it was described by Reliant’s Works department - has an entirely new lightweight chassis, a back-end built by Reliant (not Jaguar), a redesigned fibre-glass body and a larger radiator.

The engine in period was tuned for the Works by Les Ryder, and featured a Raymond Mays Mk.3 head, ultra-rare Weber 42 DCOEs and, from the 70s, had a Mk.3 213E block with later stiffening.

Other later additions, many instigated by the then owner and accomplished racing driver Robin Rew, include a two-plate clutch, special wheels, a ZF gearbox and several other bespoke modifications.

Sold by the Works in the mid 60s, the new owner competed in the car at various race events, sprints and hill climbs, with numerous wins reported.

In 1968, the car passed into the hands of the late Robin Rew, a very well-known character and something of a luminary in the competition scene.

Robin campaigned the car in historic racing, mostly through the then-new HSCC.

When the vendor first bought the car in 1985, Robin told him that his favourite place on a race track was 'in front of an Aston!'

Robin won the 'Pomeroy Trophy' with this car in 1982.

The vendor competed in the car for a couple of years and then sold the car in 1990 to a private collector who commissioned marque specialists NNG Ltd to carry out a full rebuild of the car, with instructions to keep as much of the original as possible.

The car remains extremely original inside and out, retaining its 1960s chassis, body, dashboard and even the Corbeau seats.

Today, its odometer reads 4,326 miles.

It is road legal and good to go, as we can attest having driven it.

876 HWD returned to the vendor’s ownership in 2007.

He is selling now because he just hasn’t had the time to use or work on the car as he would have hoped.

What he wants most is that this genuine, unique, one-off Le Mans attempt finds a new home with an owner who understands and appreciates its importance, and has the enthusiasm and time to do justice to its very special place in the annals of British motorsport history.

This lot is available for viewing/inspection. Please contact us via www.bonhamscarsonline.com to make an appointment.  We are open Monday to Friday between 9.00am & 5.00pm.

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