Syrena Sport

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Syrena Sport prototype

The rear part of the body is similar to the MGB, a British sports car, which was released in 1962 - two years after the Syrena Sport prototype.

The front of the Syrena Sport resembles another British sports car, the Triumph Spitfire, which was released two years after the Syrena.

Syrena Sport was a Polish prototype sports car designed and manufactured in the early 1960's by a group of engineers at the Fabryka Samochodów Osobowych FSO, which due to political reasons never went into mass production.

[edit] Construction

The stylish 2-door fibreglass body was designed by Cezary Nawrot. The typical 2-stroke 2-cylinder S-15 engine did not fit because of the very flat and low bonnet so a new engine had to be designed. This was a 4-cycle 2-cylinder boxer engine made of two straight-two motorcycle cylinder blocks put together, designed by Wladyslaw Skoczynski. It had a displacement of 750 cc and developed 25 bhp (19 kW) at 5000 rpm which performed adequately for this light car. Some of the mechanical parts, such as the front suspension and steering were taken from other versions of the Syrena.

[edit] History

The prototype was ready in 1960 and was first shown to the public on the 1st of May (Labor Day in Eastern Bloc countries). At the time it was considered the most beautiful car from behind the Iron Curtain in western Europe. Unfortunately, the government found it "too extravagant and imperialistic" and it never went into production. The sole prototype was destroyed in early 1970's.