Sterling Motor Car cars for sale
About these listings
Every Sterling Motor Car listed on MotorLoop.
Overview
The Sterling is a wedge-shaped fibreglass sports coupe built on a modified Volkswagen Beetle chassis, with a lifting canopy instead of conventional doors. Around 765 were produced between 1973 and 1978, which makes it one of the more numerous American kit cars of its era and a car with a genuine following.
Performance was modest in standard form — the original 1.3-litre Volkswagen flat-four and four-speed transaxle — but many were later re-engined with Porsche 911, Subaru or V8 power, so two Sterlings can be entirely different cars.
History
The design began in Britain in 1971 as the Nova, by Richard Oakes and Phil Sayers. Jerry D. Wills brought it to the United States in 1973 and renamed it Sterling to avoid a conflict with Chevrolet’s Nova trademark.
A Sebring variant, built by Custom Coach Builders in the mid-1970s, made the car more practical with a taller roofline, integrated bumpers and headlights that met American safety standards. Production wound down through the late 1980s as regulations shifted, but the car retains a cult status helped by film and magazine appearances.
Buying one in Australia
Find out what engine is fitted and who fitted it. A standard Volkswagen car and a Porsche-powered one differ completely in braking, cooling and structural demands, and a conversion done without engineering support is a serious problem to inherit.
Registration runs through your state or territory’s individually constructed or modified vehicle process. Ask for the engineering certificate covering the car as it stands now, not as it left the original builder.