1989 Middlebridge Scimitar GTE #0001 - Famously the conveyance of HRH The Princess Royal

Following the demise of the Reliant brand in 1986, the beloved Scimitar GTE looked destined to disappear in to automotive history. When the rights to the model were acquired by Middlebridge Engineering in 1987, they set about changing the car into the vehicle it always should have been making more than 450 modifications. Some of these were minor but others, such as the installation of the more modern Ford 2.9-litre V6 engine and a five-speed manual gearbox from the Granada/Scorpio (an automatic gearbox was also offered) gave the car a top speed of 140mph in addition to vastly superior driveability. They were fitted with 15-inch alloy wheels and modified suspension for better ride and handling and the cars looked more modern too, thanks to body-coloured bumpers and a revised interior with more equipment. A galvanised chassis, in lieu of the original’s mild steel, made them all but rust-proof thanks to that gorgeous fibreglass body. These changes transformed the car, however, sadly they did make it rather on the expensive side and just 77 were sold.

We are delighted to be able to offer Middlebridge Scimitar GTE #0001, the ‘Production Prototype’ that became known as ‘Number 1’. It’s well-known in the Scimitar world as it was the Motor Show Launch Car, the Press Car, and used by Dennis Nursey and Paul Kalwa for the official 'Cannes' South of France photo-shoot when it was driven to Cannes averaging 100mph where possible. A further trip to France by the same team on the 1989 Beaujolais Run kept Number 1 in the public eye and all of this generated lots of publicity but nowhere near as much as Number 1’s main claim to fame. Having been very impressed with the car at it’s launch, HRH The Princess Royal placed an early order and was allocated #00005. Middlebridge Scimitar Ltd. were running behind schedule with the car and loaned her Number 1 for a week. This was duly returned, however, her car was still not ready so the company loaned her No1 again for a period of six weeks this time. At some point during this period, she was enjoying Number 1 down the Fosse Way when she was pulled over for speeding by a local officer. Amazingly, having let her off, and reminded her of the local laws, he was then forced to pull her over the very next day for the same crime. Naturally, the national press made the most of it (a double page spread in Autofocus) and it featured in the evening news on television. Number 1 became the most recognisable car in the country for a day or two at least.

HRH obviously took a bit of a shine to Number 1 as she chose the exact same colours and specification (Pearlescent Pine Green and Charcoal Velour/Leather) for her car, #00005. In fact the two cars remain very similar to this day apart from, being a prototype, Number 1 has some additional dials and pre-production fittings.

E523 DNU was acquired by our fastidious vendor in 2014 and he set about bringing it back to 'Brochure Original' condition. The original interior was retained, however the rest of the car mechanically and cosmetically was completely refreshed. As you can see from our images, the car now presents beautifully.

It's accompanied by a fascinating history file including details of its time on the Cars of the Royals stand at the NEC, the inevitable newspaper cuttings regarding the Princess Royal and other events, invoices from the renovation, correspondence and much more.

Presented to our sale in superb condition, having covered just 52,507 miles with a freshly issued MOT, we recommend this fabulous GTE to any collector or fan of the model looking for the very best available.