Prototypes, design The SV-1 was the creation of American entrepreneur
Malcolm Bricklin, known in the industry for establishing
Subaru of America prior to building the SV-1, and for importing
Zastava cars to North America under the
Yugo name afterwards. Bricklin wanted to build a small, affordable sports car with gullwing doors. Power was to come from a four-cylinder engine from
Opel. Bricklin entrusted design of a road-going
proof-of-concept car to
Bruce Meyers, but responsibility for the design soon transferred to Marshall Hobart.
Dick Dean built the car, which was complete by December 1972. This car became known as
the Grey Ghost. When completed the car had a six-cylinder
Chrysler Slant-6 engine instead of a four. Other features included a rear suspension from a
Datsun 510, a braking system that drew parts from Opel, Datsun and Toyota, and a tilting steering wheel from a Chevrolet. In 1972, the Bricklin Vehicle Corporation began working with Herb Grasse Design and AVC Engineering to redesign and re-engineer the car. Three prototypes were built with assistance from AVC. AVC engineer Tom Monroe would later join Bricklin as Chief Engineer. Design of the production SV-1 was done by Herb Grasse, a graduate of the
ArtCenter College of Design who had earlier been employed by both Chrysler and Ford. Grasse had also worked with
George Barris on the conversion of the 1955 Lincoln Futura show car into
the television Batmobile. It is claimed that Grasse opted to use the same taillamp units fitted to his personal
DeTomaso Pantera for the Bricklin. These Carello units were also used on cars from Maserati and Lamborghini, but originally appeared on the
Alfa Romeo 2000 Berlina. The first of the original three prototypes became known as
the Red Car. While some references say that it, like the Grey Ghost, had a Chrysler slant-6 engine, pictures exist of a Bricklin identified as the Red Car with an Argentine-sourced version of the Kaiser/Jeep
Tornado inline six-cylinder engine from an
IKA-Renault Torino installed. All subsequent prototypes had V8 engines. As many as eight prototypes were eventually built.
Manufacturing The E.M.C. Company consulted on the plastic bodywork and built some prototype parts. Toolmaker Visioneering Inc. produced the master patterns for the molds using their new CNC equipment. E.M.C. expected to supply both the large panel press as well as a complete set of water-cooled cast aluminum molds for the 22 body-parts required for the Bricklin, but ultimately Bricklin only bought the press from E.M.C., opting to use epoxy molds for their bodywork. Bricklin experienced persistent problems with the composite acrylic/fiberglass body panel technology. The acrylic resin first selected would blister at temperatures as low as . The official unveiling of the car took place at the Four Seasons restaurant in
New York City on June 25, 1974.
End of production Among the factors blamed for the car's ultimate demise were ongoing quality control problems, nepotism, supplier shortages, worker absenteeism, and a series of price increases that more than doubled the price of the car in two years. An estimated 1,700 Bricklins were surviving as of 2012. Consolidated Motors acquired the inventory of the defunct Bricklin company, among which were several partially assembled cars later completed by Consolidated and sold as 1976 models. Consolidated also built a small number of SV-1s up from bare chassis, which were also sold as 1976 models. Bricklin had incorporated some minor body changes in the car for 1976.
Reviews and driving impressions In a test done by Car and Driver magazine in May 1975 the performance of the Bricklin was found to be comparable to the contemporary
Corvette, the only other V8-powered 2-seat plastic-bodied North American sports car at the time. On the other hand, automotive critic Dan Neil found the car's performance underwhelming due to its weight and named it to his 50 Worst Cars of All Time list, saying, "This thing couldn't outrun the
Rose Bowl Parade."
Commemorations • As part of a series commemorating Historic Land Vehicles, Canada issued the Bricklin Stamp on June 8, 1996. It had a face value of 45¢. • In June 2003, the Canadian mint issued a $20 sterling silver Bricklin coin with selective gold plating. ==Technical features==