The Bricklin SV-1 was a gull-wing door sports car built in Saint John, New Brunswick, and also in Minto, New Brunswick, Canada from 1974 until early 1976 for the U.S. market. The car was the creation of Malcolm Bricklin, an American millionaire who had previously founded Subaru of America. Sales did not meet expectations, and only 2,854 cars were built before the company went into receivership, owing the government $23 million. It is believed approximately 1,500 Bricklin cars still exist.
The name stood for "safety vehicle one", an odd choice of focus in a sports car from the fuel-sensitive 1970s. The Bricklin was designed for safety with an integrated roll cage, 5 mph bumpers, and side beams. The body was fiberglass with bonded acrylic in five "safety" colors: white, red, green, orange and suntan. The cars had no cigarette lighter or ashtray. Malcolm Bricklin believed it was unsafe to smoke and drive.
Power came from an AMC 360 in³ (5899 cm³) V8 for 1974. Later cars used Ford's 351 in³ (5752 cm³) Windsor V8. The suspension was independent in front with A-arms and coil springs, while the rear used leaf springs on a live axle. A high performance V8 was chosen so that in case of an impending accident, the power of the V8 was enough for the owner to pull away from the potential accident.
772 model year 1974 cars were produced, 137 of which had four-speed manual transmissions. All 1975 and 1976 cars had automatic transmissions.
The Bricklin Story was a 30-minute 1974 film produced as a self-promotion piece. It aired nationally on CBC and was roundly panned by critics.
The Bricklin was featured at least once on Let's Make a Deal as a prize. It was valued at nearly $9,000.
A 1975 music album by Woodstock, New Brunswick DJ Charlie Russell, was entitled (with irony), The Bricklin and Other Sound Investments.
New Brunswick Premier Richard Hatfield's 1974 reelection campaign was nicknamed The Bricklin Election, possibly because of his government's financial support of the Bricklin company and because of Hatfield's use of an orange-colored Bricklin in his campaign. He blamed criticism of the car on the opposing Liberal government.
An episode of Chico and the Man debuted on NBC on February 14, 1975, guest-starring Sammy Davis Jr., who drives in to Ed Brown's garage in a Bricklin, complaining of engine trouble.
A Bricklin SV-1 appears in two shots in the 1977 American film Demon Seed. It was driven by the husband portrayed by Fritz Weaver, of the main character portrayed by Julie Christie. Contrary to various sources, the car was not featured in a movie version of Harold Robbins' novel, The Betsy.
A most famous Bricklin was also featured in two H.B. Halicki movies which are from 1982 and 1983 which are called The Junkman and Deadline Auto Theft, where Halicki drives the Bricklin during a car chase and crashes it into a river. The Bricklin later winds up in the Los Angeles Police Department impound yard.
A Bricklin was also featured as the car driven by pornographic actor John Holmes in the 1977 film Eruption.
The Bricklin was featured in the September, 1974 issue of Playboy Magazine.
A New Brunswick film company, Cojak Productions, reviewed the Bricklin fiasco in a docu-drama. Malcolm Bricklin played himself. Three Bricklins were discovered in Halifax and were purchased for use in the film. Titled Plan B: The Bricklin Legend, the film was aired on RDI and Radio-Canada on April 15, 2006.
History Television produced a documentary entitled Premier, Promoter & Their Car for its Turning Points of History series. The documentary explores the political fiasco that surrounded the Bricklin.
Source: Wikipedia
