Dave Poole says that the day he gets fed up with driving will be the day that he passes his 1969 Reliant Scimitar GTE on to someone else who can enjoy its quirks and charms. But after 21 years of dutiful ownership, there are no signs of that day arriving anytime soon.
And why would he? It’s a do-it-all machine that he and his wife take full advantage of: spacious enough for more than just a weekend getaway in the country (plus its got the all but obligatory-in-the-UK trailer hitch setup), stylish enough to prompt many a gas station chat, and quick enough to do justice to the “sporting-reliants” decals that it wears.
An avid collector of the now-defunct marque’s memorabilia (yes, they made more than just the comedically topple-prone Robin), Dave’s turned his home into an in-progress museum to all things Reliant.
His Scimitar GTE (Gran Turismo Estate, a body style added to the Scimitar line in 1968 from the designs of Tom Karen’s team, a man who also has vehicles like Luke Skywalker’s Landspeeder populating his résumé) was the first one that Dave went to view, and though he has made a series of tasteful modifications to the 3.0L Ford Essex V6 in the two decades that followed after the purchase, it remains a fantastic example of the rarely-seen Scimitar sports wagon. And like all privately-run museums not bankrolled by a few million, the Reliant’s odometer is almost always spinning.
Though given the budget he would like to return the car to its original color and take care of a few imperfections that the bodywork has sustained over the years, for the moment Dave, his wife, and the Scimitar—all of whom are turning 50 in 2019—are content traveling the English countryside together, and partaking in the occasional track day.
