The Sabra Sport (also called Sabra Sport GT or Sabra Sports) was a rare Israeli sports car produced from 1961 to 1968 (with some final deliveries in 1969) by Autocars Co. Ltd. of Haifa, Israel—the country’s first (and only significant) volume car manufacturer.
What was the Sabra Sport?
Israeli Sports Car
It is widely regarded as the only production sports car ever conceived and built in Israel. The name “Sabra” refers both to a native-born Israeli (a Jewish person born in Israel) and to the cactus which appears in the car’s logo.
Autocars Co. Ltd.
The company was founded in the late Fifties by Itzhak Shubinsky with the goal of building vehicles for the domestic market (to avoid import taxes) and for export, especially to the United States. Because Israel had almost no automotive industry or expertise at the time, Shubinsky partnered with European companies, sourcing the engine from Ford, and the 4-speed manual transmission from ZF. Engineering and initial assembly was performed by English carmaker Reliant Motors (known for the Scimitar and three-wheeled vehicles).
New York Auto Show
The car debuted at the 1961 New York Auto Show, promoted as “the first Israeli sports car.” Due to delays in building the Israeli factory, the first 144 cars were assembled by Reliant in Tamworth, England, and shipped directly to the U.S. Later production moved to Haifa. Reliant also produced its own nearly identical version called the Reliant Sabre.
Specs
The Sabra was conventional for a sports car of the day, featuring a front-mounted 1.7-liter inline four, and rear-wheel drive. Horsepower ranged from 74-90, depending on mode year. The Sabra featured a soft top, and fiberglass body mounted to a steel frame.
Performance
Performance was modest for a sports car, with the Sabra reportedly reaching 60 mph from a stop in roughly 16 seconds. To; speed was about 100 mpg.
Price
The Israeli sports car was priced from $3,000 to roughly $3,600 in the U.S., comparable to an Austin-Healey 3000 but with performance closer to an MG Midget.
Production
Exact production figures are not to be had, but its understood that roughly 400 Sabras were built during the car’s run, with fewer than 150 reaching the U.S.
Legacy
Today, the Sabra Sport is a rare collector’s item, with over 100 examples still known to exist (primarily in Israel, the U.S., and Belgium). Surviving cars occasionally appear at auctions and museums, and it remains a unique piece of automotive and Israeli industrial history.
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Sabra Sport Pictures
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