At the other end of the electric kit car spectrum from the previous one posted is Jonathan Trotter’s 1973 Sebring (Sterling). It’s built on a 1971 IRS Beetle pan (four wheel disc brakes, new rotors, calipers, hoses, cables ball joints, and bearings, and all chrome steering linkage, as well as new shocks, new rims and tires). The car looks good with new paint, new interior, a new wiper motor, arm, and blade, new weather strips, and new gauges.
The electric system is 144 volts, with a D&D motor, a Curtis controller, a Zivan charger, and Optima deep cell batteries. It will do 75 mph and has a range of thirty to a hundred miles depending on driving habits. Jonathan built the car in October 2007 and it has a new VIN and registration as an electric vehicle in Missouri. He’s asking $24,000 so he can move on to other projects, and says he’s invested much more than that. Write him at jonathantrotter@hotmail.com if you’re interested.
I picked this Sterling kit car up this morning here in Toronto. It’s never been completely finished or on the road, sitting for four years in a garage with the most recent owner, and eight years in a garage with the previous owner. Fingers crossed the trend will now be broken. Not much else to write on the project, but I’ll keep you updated of course.
Nick has this beautiful example of a Sterling kit car up for sale in the Cleveland, Ohio area. He says the car needs a little work, with problems holding a charge, as well as some work to repair imperfections in the fiberglass (minor chips and so on), and the interior (dashboard and carpet). Unfortunately there is also a crack in the windshield. The previous owner made a nice upgrade to the light pods, giving a look that’s a coherent mix of modern and classic sportscar design. Nick paid $10,000 for the car when he bought it. If you’re interested in buying it, drop him a line at nick_valo@—-.– SOLD!.
In these photos is Konstantin Stassinopoulos’s widebody Nova/Sterling project in what I believe is an earlier stage of the project. More details on the dramatic (to say the least!) car are in the previous entry. Do be sure to check out his website for more of his automotive projects, as well as his other non-car design work.
I quite like the wild widebody conversion Konstantin Stassinopoulos from Koon Design in Germany has done with his Nova/Sterling. He bought the car back in 1993, and first upgraded the engine, swapping the little Beetle engine for a 220HP 2.8L V6 and strengthening the chassis. Later he stretched the body by almost a foot, and built absolutely massive fender flares as well as adding other minor tweaks like a remote-control hatch. The car has been through a number of iterations with a variety of scoops, wings, and effects.
Definitely looks right out of some post-apocalyptic sci-fi movie, especially with the matte-black paint job and excess of vents.
Speaking of the Nova, here’s one for sale in Neath Port Talbot, UK (#200233437106). It’s built to original specifications with no modifications, on a 1500cc 1969 VW Beetle chassis. Everything is new and it’s barely been driven, with less than 1700 miles recorded. A great car that’s perfect for someone looking to own one of the kit car industry’s classic designs in it’s original forms — the Nova/Sterling has been through at least a dozen iterations under a dozen corporations.
After sitting in a warehouse, running but without the final touches to make this car everything it could be, Robert — who says “I always wanted a V8 in a kit car, but with gas at $4 a gallon, the four-cylinder mileage is a luxury!” — decided to sell his Sebring (a variation on the Sterling). With only a day left in the auction (#130229120294), it’s sitting at an economical $3,050. As a trivia-note, as you can see from the side profile (last photo), this Sebring is running drop floors to give a little more headroom to taller drivers, a necessity for all but Leprechauns in this very sleek car.
“Excuse the pictures — they were taken in a warehouse with no lights on.”
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