The pantheon of visionary car entrepreneurs includes well-known names such as Tucker, Delorean, and Bricklin. But perhaps automotive history should make room for Itzhak Shubinsky, managing director of Autocars, regarded as Israel’s first carmaker.
Shubinsky earned his place in history by trying to produce a sleek sports car in Israel and sell it in the US in the 1960s. This gorgeous bright red Sabra GT, recently listed on eBay with a Buy-It-Now price of $75,000, is one of few hundred ever built. It’s among the world’s rarest sports cars. The Sabra example, which rides on lovely wire wheels, underwent a thorough restoration including a re-spray in the original red color.
1967 photo of a Sabra car, outside Autocar’s Israeli factory.
The Back Story
In the 1950s, Autocars had been producing boxy, utilitarian vehicles without much success. When Shubinsky eyed the low-slung British Ashley GT with prominent twin bumper guards, he quickly hatched a plan to reach American car buyers.
To produce the Sabra, Autocars used a fiberglass body from the UK’s Ashley Laminates and a chassis designed by British engineer Leslie Ballamy. The fiberglass bodies were produced by Reliant—purveyors of the infamous three-wheeled Robin. (There’s a Robin available on eBay right now.) Shubinsky dubbed the car as “Sabra,” a name denoting both a native-born Israeli and a cactus—prickly on the outside and sweet on the inside. The center of the original three-spoke spun-metal and wood steering wheel proudly sports Sabra’s unique prickly cactus logo.
Shubinsky debuted the first Sabra at the 1961 New York Auto Show. In the end, the total production run between 1961 and 1968, was fewer than 400 cars—with only a small fraction of those reaching American shores. (The first batch of about 100 Sabra cars was produced entirely in the UK, followed by a smaller run in Israel.)
Two variants were offered: the drop-top Sabra Sports and the fastback Sports GT. The Sports featured a base 1.7-liter SOHC Ford four-cylinder engine, which was fitted to a four-speed manual transmission. It was rated at a modest 61 horsepower when equipped with a single Zenith carburetor.
The Sabra Sports GT’s 1.7-liter engine was fitted with a more powerful dual-carburetor setup to push performance to about 110 horsepower. Even though the Sabra Sports GT weighs less than a ton, it requires some patience to merge with traffic—given its zero-to-60 mph time of about 16 seconds.
The car’s chassis utilizes a four-wheel independent suspension. There are dual wishbones at the front, a watts linkage at the rear, and coils springs all around. Stopping chores are handled with disc brakes at the front and drums at the rear.
The interior of this example looks original with a full complement of gauges. The odometer shows a remarkably low 1,058 miles, and the seller states that there are just 38 1964 Sabra GTs left worldwide. The car is currently located in Israel’s Herzliya, near Tel Aviv.
Values for high-quality Sabra models are commonly around $70,000. A 1964 Sabra GT Coupe, similar to the Sabra now listed on eBay sold at the 2016 Amelia Island Auction for $93,500.
