Saleofcar.com :Other

Other Makes COUPE (1964)
for sale

Price: US $50,000.00

Description:

1964 SABRA GT COUPE
Chassis no. GT4824
Engine no. S305146
1, 701cc, SOHC Inline 4-Cylinder Engine
61bhp at 4, 400rpm
4-Speed Manual Transmission
4-Wheel Independent Suspension by Coil Springs
Front Disc Brakes, Rear Drum Brakes
*Exceptionally rare make and model
*The only production Israeli car model
*Comprehensively Restored
*ONE OF 38 1964 GT LEFT WORLDWIDE !
*ONLY 1, 058 MILES !
*Located in ISRAEL as a part of our well kept climate control car showroom .
THE MOTORCAR OFFERED
Offered from Israeli Collector, this beautiful example may well be the finest to survive. It was acquired form the collection as the owner was resident in Israel at the time of their production.
The car was in need of refurbishment and so it was subjected to the methodical long restoration which has given us much pleasure for so many of our cars, returning them to their former glory.
The Sabra was completely refurbished from the ground up, years of work on the body, mechanics and cosmetics being completed a couple of years ago. Aesthetically, the car is beautifully refinished in the original red color. Mechanically the car was totally gone through , keeping the original manufacture specification and she is road ready.
Rarely seen anywhere, this fabulous example would be a unique feature in any collection and certainly a talking point for the interesting history of the brand or better still it could be a lot of fun on a car tour!
ABOUT SABRA CARS
Autocars of Haifa, Israel, can lay claim to being the only true car manufacturer that Israel ever produced and was the brainchild of a Itzhak Shubinsky. Naturally proudly using a Jewish metaphor he chose to call his car the 'Sabra', a term appropriated for Jews that are born in Israel, and Hebrew word for a cactus. It is said that the analogy is that it reflects their prickly exterior and a sweet center!
Autocars bought the Sabra's body design from kit-makers Ashley and the rights to its chassis from Les Ballamy, having seen both exhibited at the 1960 Racing Car Show. Their aim was to market these cars here in the United States and in fact they were to debut a prototype at the New York Auto Show in 1961.
Shubinsky contracted Reliant in the UK to supply the glassfibre bodies, and as it turned out since the Haifa manufacturing plant took a while to set up, Reliant ended up building the first batch of Sabras in its entirety, using the four-cylinder 1.7-liter Ford Consul engine. Reliant were clearly convinced enough by the car themselves that this led to them building their own version, under the name 'Sabre'.
Once production was fully under swing in Israel, they were able to sell their cars locally as an alternative to imported cars which were taxed heavily. Despite this logical business plan it turned out that many were sold beyond the country, some 144 arrived in America and the car proved particularly popular in Belgium, where 81 arrived, significant proportions when viewed as fractions of a total production run of 379 between 1961 and 1968.

_{update: 2017-02-25}