Featuring uprated suspension, lattice steel-rims, ‘Plaid Sport’ cloth trim, colour-keyed fleece carpet and a ‘grey-foil’ lower body the SR offered sporting style for only £6,400. The rev-hungry carburettor-fed engine produced most of its power above 4,000rpm and, to the detriment of refinement; the SR had a low ratio final-drive to better exploit this and its light 940kg weight.
The ‘16SH’ engined SR was only produced for a year making Londoner Paul Wellard’s 1985 example very rare. He bought it to use as an everyday car in March 2003, with only 66,000 miles showing, and crashed it 4 days later. Ironically, this saved the car; he stored it until 2008 and then started its restoration. Engine: 1,598cc 4IL OHC Power: 90bhp@5,800rpm Torque: 93lb.ft@4,000rpm Maximum speed: 113.7mph 0–60mph: 11.5secs