One look was all it took. Greg Worboy happened to see a bright green sports car driving past him in traffic one day and the shape of the mysterious sports car stopped him in his tracks. He didn’t know much about the car as it drove past him; he just knew that it said “BRICKLIN” on the tail and that he had to have one.
Worboy was so moved by what he saw that he immediately went to eBay and found a clean SV-1 to call his own. Worboy enjoys cruising around in his gullwinged piece of Canadian automotive history and says it’s a constant head turner on the streets of his home town in Courtice, Ont.
We previously wrote an in-depth look at the pioneering SV-1 and why it was a sales flop. But today we want to know what this car is like to drive.
Read more: Was the Bricklin SV-1 a failure?
The drama starts the moment you press the button that opens the gullwing door. The door is lifted automatically by compressed air and rises with a sound akin to a door opening in a Star Wars movie. The door sill is high and entering the low-slung car gracefully is all but impossible. Once inside, you’re surrounded by a symphony of ’70s brown. Everything in the interior is brown! An interesting “safety feature” is that the seats are upholstered in a “no slip” fabric that feels like a cross between suede and 250 grit sandpaper. The idea is that you don’t slide around during emergency manoeuvres and therefore remain in control of the car.
The interior is very ’70s and very brown.
Clayton Seams, Driving
Safety was actually the SV-1’s primary design objective and the “SV” stands for “safety vehicle.” Well if speed kills then the Bricklin is very safe indeed. Our 1974 model is powered by a rumbling AMC 360 cu. in. V8 that makes 220 horsepower. It’s a far cry from today’s 400-horsepower sports cars but taken alongside other cars of the period, the Bricklin is no slouch.
The steering is direct, heavy, and the leather-wrapped three-spoke wheel is a joy to hold. Visibility is rather poor due to the low seating position (another safety feature) but the view of the bulging front fenders over the hood is a charming one.
Panel fitment is always a struggle on a Bricklin’s fibreglass bodywork.
Clayton Seams, Driving
During Bricklin’s tumultuous two-year production period between 1974 and 1975, just 2,500 Bricklins were made (some were made in 1976 out of leftover parts). Of those 2,500, only about 1,400 are estimated to survive today. This makes Worboy’s SV-1 a very rare car. Nine years after he was first captivated by its shape, Worboy’s SV-1 is for sale on Kijiji and ready to find its next loving home.
