The 2 seat Sylva Leader was derived from the
Sylva Star kit car
A kit car is an automobile available as a set of parts that a manufacturer sells and the buyer then assembles into a functioning car. Usually, many of the major mechanical systems such as the engine and transmission are sourced from donor ve ...
. Slightly less extreme styling led to better sales. Based on the ever popular
Lotus 7
The Lotus Seven is a small, simple, lightweight, two-seater, open-top, open-wheel, sports car produced by the British manufacturer Lotus Cars (initially called Lotus Engineering) between 1957 and 1972.
It was designed by Lotus founder Colin Cha ...
style of car there were many similar designs over the years.
Features
Engine
An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy.
Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power ...
s ranged from the
Ford crossflow 1300 to the 1600. Other options were the
Ford Pinto
The Ford Pinto is a subcompact car that was manufactured and marketed by Ford Motor Company in North America from 1971 until 1980 model years. The Pinto was the first subcompact vehicle produced by Ford in North America.
The Pinto was marketed ...
, though this was rather tall for the bonnet line, and even a
Rover V8
The Rover V8 engine is a compact V8 internal combustion engine with aluminium cylinder block and cylinder heads, originally designed by General Motors and later re-designed and produced by Rover in the United Kingdom. It has been used in a wide ...
was fitted.
Suspension
Suspension or suspended may refer to:
Science and engineering
* Suspension (topology), in mathematics
* Suspension (dynamical systems), in mathematics
* Suspension of a ring, in mathematics
* Suspension (chemistry), small solid particles suspende ...
was originally from the
Vauxhall Viva
The Vauxhall Viva is a small family car that was produced by Vauxhall in a succession of three versions between 1963 and 1979. These were designated as the HA, HB and HC series.
The Viva was introduced a year after Vauxhall's fellow GM compa ...
or
Magnum and there was a
Chevette based version as well.
Carburettors
A carburetor (also spelled carburettor) is a device used by an internal combustion engine to control and mix air and fuel entering the engine. The primary method of adding fuel to the intake air is through the venturi tube in the main meterin ...
were usually twin 40 Webers or Dell'Ortos as the low bonnet made fitting the standard downdraft carb difficult.
The very strong steel spaceframe
chassis was covered by a non stressed
fiberglass
Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass ( Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass clo ...
body with the flip front bonnet giving excellent access to the engine bay.
Slightly larger and heavier than the later Striker it had a small boot accessible via the rear of the cockpit so if a full roll cage was fitted little could be carried. The front suspension was twin wishbones without an
anti roll bar with a live rear axle with a 4-point location system. This worked surprisingly well due to the low centre of gravity.
The later Strikers had a 5-point location system which improved handling.
Production
Later production was taken over by Robbley Motors but this was short lived. Front engined
rear wheel drive
Rear-wheel drive (RWD) is a form of engine and transmission layout used in motor vehicles, in which the engine drives the rear wheels only. Until the late 20th century, rear-wheel drive was the most common configuration for cars.
Most rear-wheel ...
cars such as this are becoming rarer due to a shortage of suitable donor vehicles.
See also
*
Sylva Autokits Ltd
References
{{Lotus Seven
Kit cars
Lotus Seven replicas