He wanted to build vehicles with emphasis on safety after reading Ralph Nader's "Unsafe at Any Speed", starting with a sports car to draw attention. Drawing further attention were the car's gullwing doors and competition with the Chevrolet Corvette.
Production of the vehicle, the Bricklin SV-1, began in 1974. To save weight, fiberglass was used for the body, and a colored acrylic outer layer meant that painting the car was unnecessary and the car was resistant to minor scratches. Outsourced parts abounded: the rear suspension was from the Datsun 510, the rear axle was from the AMC Hornet, the braking system had parts from Datsun, Opel, and Toyota, and the tilt steering wheel was from Chrysler
Initially, the engine was a 5.9-liter V8 from AMC producing 220 horsepower and 315 pound-feet of torque, resulting in a 7.2-second 0-60 time and a 107-MPH (172-KPH) top speed. For 1975, Bricklin was forced to switch to the 5.8-liter Ford Windsor V8, which developed 175 horsepower and 286 pound-feet of torque, causing a 9.0-second 0-60 time.
Three transmission choices were available. AMC-engined cars were fitted with either a BorgWarner T10 four-speed manual or a Chrysler Torque Commander three-speed automatic, whilst Ford-engined cars came only with a Ford FMX three-speed automatic. Color choices consisted of Safety Red, Safety Orange, Safety Green, Safety White, and Safety Suntan.
Throughout its lifetime, the SV-1 was plagued with issues. Firstly, each door weighed 90 pounds (41 kg), so a power-operated hydraulic system was implemented to open them. However, opening one door while closing the other caused the system to fail, making opening the doors difficult for many.
Secondly, the car was planned to sell for around $4,000, but it cost $7,490 ($39,741 in 2021 currency) when it hit the market. This increased to $9,980 ($48,524) in 1975. For comparison, a base-model Corvette cost just $6,810 ($33,111) in 1975.
The reason for the price increase was that one-third of the body panels produced were wasted because of difficulty getting the acrylic layer to bond with the fiberglass. Furthermore, hunting season caused a large portion of the workforce to go hunting, resulting in a seriously understaffed factory.
Production ceased in 1975, but several 1976 models were constructed out of remaining parts. In total, 2,906 SV-1s were produced: 772 1974s, 2,100 1975s, and 34 1976s.
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