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History of the Sterling in the UK

Brett Proctor

Well-known member
Been reading the history of the Sterling when it got here in the USA but the artical didn't cover the history back in the UK. Is there a post some where that covers day one of its evolution that I missed.
 

Peter

Active member
Do you mean the Richard Oaks story (http://www.lightauto.com/Richard%20Oakes%20Story.htm) when he designed to original car we call the Nova in 1971 to 1975 as ADD then resurrected in 1978 as Nova cars by Vic Elam untill 1990 followed by a low production run by Nova Developments in the 1990s when it disaperead to India with Shashi Vyasin 1996 where it festers as another daft dream of an electric car? Anyway, that's the potted version.

Licensed versions of the Nova have been built in Austria as the Ledl, in Australia as the Purvis Eureka, in France as the Défi, in Italy as the Totem and Puma, in New Zealand as the Scorpion, in South Africa as the Eagle, in Switzerland as the Gryff, in the United States as the Sterling and Sovran and in Zimbabwe as the Tarantula. There have also been numerous un-licensed copies.
Some versions featured pop-up head lamps (UK, Eagle SS, 1981 to 1998) and gull-wing doors (Eagle SS UK and Cimbria in the States), but the basic silhouette remained the same.

( acknowledgment to Wikipedia, Eagle Owners club and Euro-Nova)
 
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islandman

Member
Another good source is Phil Fentons Nova Book

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/The-Nova-Sterling-Eureka-Kit/dp/B009E95102]The Nova/Sterling/Eureka Kit Car: Phill Fenton: Amazon.com: Books[/ame]
 

CyCo

New member
Just to clear something up, the Scorpion in NZ wasn't licensed. It was actually a Eureka clone that wasn't licensed from Alan Purvis. There was a licensed version of this car made in NZ, and that was the Purvis Eureka. As for the Scorpion, I think there were less than 10 made (though don't quote me on that), and they were inferior copies, with the fiberglass being much thinner.
 
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