Editing Reliant Motors (section)

=== Expansion ===
At the same time, Reliant were working for other countries to design vehicles for home-grown production. Vehicles would be sent over in kit form for the countries' own workforces to assemble. Reliant would first design the vehicle to the country's or company's requirements. The first was the [[Anadol#Anadol A1 (1966-1975)|Anadol]] in Turkey, which was based on a mix of [[Ford Motor Company|Ford]] parts and a custom chassis. The Anadol began as a two-door saloon, then a four-door saloon, followed by commercial pickup and van versions. The pickup was produced until the early 1990s.

A similar vehicle was the Israeli [[Sabra Sport]], also based on a Ford engine and running gear. Reliant was so impressed with the design, they sold it in the UK as the [[Reliant Sabre|Sabre]] to help Reliant's company image expand beyond a three-wheeled micro-car maker. The car sold poorly against offerings from [[Triumph Motor Company|Triumph]] and [[MG Motor|MG]], however.

Later, Reliant bought a prototype design for the replacement [[Daimler Dart]], which became the [[Reliant Scimitar|Scimitar]] coupe and later the best-selling sporting estate—the Scimitar GTE.

To power the Scimitar GT coupe and Sabre, Reliant turned towards [[Ford of Britain]] and were supplied with the [[Ford Zephyr engine|Zephyr 6 and Consul 4]] engines. The coupe GT could be purchased with either the 2.5 litre or the 3.0 litre Essex V6 engine. Later, 3.0 GTEs were fitted with Essex V6 engines and gearboxes. On the 3.0 V6 GTE, the back axle ratio changed depending on the use of either a straight four-speed gearbox or one with an overdrive unit.

Reliant bought out [[Bond Cars]] in 1969 after Bond had gone into liquidation. Reliant purchased Bond after wanting to enter Triumph dealerships. Bond's [[Bond Equipe|Equipe]] sports car already had this agreement, but Triumph entered [[British Leyland]] and the deal ended. It is said that Bond was Reliant's main competitor in three-wheeled vehicles, with the [[Bond Minicar]] and the [[Bond 875]], but Reliant's vehicles outsold Bond's in huge numbers, with a much larger production and dealer network. Reliant did use the Bond name for the 1970s [[Bond Bug]], which was a Reliant prototype originally named the Reliant Rogue. The Bug was a sporty three-wheeler designed by [[Ogle Design|Ogle]] designer [[Tom Karen]]. The Bug used a shortened [[Reliant Regal]] chassis and other mechanical parts, but many parts, such as the front [[swingarm]], were new designs that would also be used on the 1973 Reliant Robin. The Bond Bug came in 700, 700E and 700ES models until replaced by the 750 model.

Reliant built four-wheeled versions of their three-wheeled stablemates – the first was the [[Reliant Rebel]], which had three-quarters of the rear chassis design of the Regal, but front suspension based on the Triumph Herald with Reliant's own steering system. The engines were the same 600 cc and 700 cc units used in the Regal, but with a higher [[compression ratio]] and more torque because of the extra weight the Rebel carried over the Regal. The last model came with the 750 cc version when the Mk1 Reliant Robin was introduced. The styling of the Rebel was intended to make the car look unique so it did not seem like a four-wheeled version of the Regal; the Rebel came in [[Sedan (automobile)|saloon]], estate and van models.

The [[Reliant Kitten]] was the four-wheeled version of the 1970s Reliant Robin, designed to replace the Rebel and featuring the 850 cc version of Reliant's own engine, which was introduced in 1975 (with the Reliant Robin gaining the engine shortly afterwards). The design this time featured very heavily on the Reliant Robin with only the nose of the design being different, having square headlights and a black panel around them – this was done mainly for cost-saving reasons so the parts from both vehicles could be shared for production.

After Reliant Kitten production stopped in 1982, the rights were sold to [[Sipani]] Automobiles in India who made the vehicle near-exactly the same, but with the name Sipani Dolphin. Later, the vehicle became a 4-door hatchback called the Sipani Montana. The car was built well into the 1990s with exactly the same Kitten mechanical. Reliant exported engines they had built for their own vehicles in the UK.

Between 1983 and 1990, a utility/pickup vehicle called the [[Reliant Fox]] was produced in the UK. This was based on an original development by Reliant to design a vehicle for the Greek company [[MEBEA]]. It was based on Reliant Kitten mechanical with its own pickup body and canvas top design. It had originally been built in Greece by MEBEA between 1979 and 1983.<ref name=Greekmanuf>[https://www.academia.edu/2899187/Greek_vehicle_and_machine_manufacturers_1800_to_present_A_pictorial_history Skartsis, L., "Greek Vehicle & Machine Manufacturers 1800 to present: A Pictorial History", Marathon (2012)] {{ISBN|978-960-93-4452-4}} (eBook) accessed 18 August 2023</ref> After production finished in Greece, Reliant decided to build it in the UK, but gave the Fox many design changes, including 12-inch wheels, altered suspension and the high compression 850 cc engine. They designed a rear hardtop to make the vehicle into a van or estate. Tandy Industries used Foxes as a basis for a compact, two-berth camper-van.

Reliant also made a small three-wheeled commercial vehicle called the [[Reliant TW9]], later sold by other companies as the Ant (and, like the Robin, licence-built in Greece by [[MEBEA]]<ref name=Greekmanuf/>), which was a chassis and cab, onto which a custom rear body was fitted: a road sweeper, a flat back, a van, a milk float and hydraulic lifting rear bed version were common fitments. Also, a fifth wheel (actually fourth wheel) articulated tractor unit was created to pull large trailers. It was often used by public utility companies or more commonly sold to councils, where its ability to negotiate narrow alleyways was a big advantage.

Reliant's expertise in the area of composite car body production also saw the company produce lightweight bodyshells for [[Ford RS200]] [[rally car]]s and a fibreglass-bodied [[taxicab|taxi]], the [[MetroCab]] – the first to have full wheelchair provision (manufactured by a division of [[Kamkorp]] after 2001), they also made Ford fibreglass truck cabs and [[Ford Transit]] hightops. With Reliant's expertise in fibreglass, the company created bodies for trains, kitchen worktops and boat/jet ski hulls.

Reliant's main business was selling three-wheeled vehicles. The main market these would sell to would be a motorcyclist who didn't wish to pass their full car licence test. It was a sizable niche market due to the large number of motorcyclists present and it lasted until 2001 when the EU eliminated the B1 class from being issued with a full motorcycle licence (the B1 allowing the holder to drive a three or four-wheeled vehicle up to the weight of {{cvt|550|kg|disp=sqbr}}). The change capped Reliant's market share.