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| Bricklin SV-1 |
| Manufacturer: |
Bricklin Int. |
| Class: |
Sports car |
| Body Styles: |
2-door coupe |
| Production: |
1974–1976 |
| Engine: |
1974:AMC 360cid V8
1975–1976:V8 Ford 351 Windsor |
| Length: |
178.6 in |
| Wheelbase: |
96.0 in |
| Width: |
67.6 in |
| Height: |
48.15 in (doors closed) |
| Weight: |
3470 lb |
| Fuel Consumption |
13 MPG city
15–18 MPG open road |
| This article is part of the automobile series. |
The Bricklin SV-1 was a gullwing door sports car built in Saint
John, New Brunswick, Canada from 1974 until
early 1976 for the US market. The
car was the creation of Malcolm Bricklin, an American millionaire
who had previously founded Subaru of America. Sales did not meet expectations, and only
2,854 cars were built before the company went into receivership, owing the government $23 million. It is believed that around
1500 cars still exist.
The name stood for "safety vehicle one", an odd choice of focus in a sports car from the fuel-sensitive 1970s. The Bricklin was designed for safety with an integrated roll cage, 5 mph bumpers, and side beams.
The body was fiberglass with bonded acrylic in five "safety" colors. The cars had no cigarette lighter or ashtray.
Power came from an AMC 360 in³ V8 for 1974. Later cars used Ford's 351 in³
Windsor V8. The
suspension was independent in front with A-arms and coil springs, while the rear used leaf springs on a live axle.
Among the factors that doomed the Bricklin were a high price, build quality problems especially with leaking gullwing doors,
lack of confidence in its acrylic plastic bodyshell, and a poorly designed electro-pneumatic system for raising the heavy doors.
The later De Lorean, which resembled the Bricklin in many ways, used a much more
reliable torsion bar system to raise the doors.
A later Bricklin development was a true rotary engine (not a Wankel engine). However, this never saw the light of day.
Malcolm Bricklin is in the car business once more, trying to revive the Yugo.[1] (http://www.invest-in-serbia.com/archive/2002_05/2002_05_12_1.htm)
In the Media
A New Brunswick film company, Cojak Productions, is reviewing the Bricklin fiasco in a docu-drama. Malcolm Bricklin will be playing himself. Three Bricklins were discovered in Halifax and have been
purchased for use in the film.
The film has been tentatively named Plan B: The Bricklin Legend, will be aired on RDI and
Radio-Canada International at a date yet to be determined.
Problems
- The gull-wing doors weighed 45 kilograms each. They also leaked.
- Electrical issues
- Headlights often refused to pop up
- The plastic body was subject to cracks
- A high sticker price
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