“Momentum cars are for weenies”
-Sun Tzu
The 1990s were a time when Somervell sought to recover its pre-late 70s sporty image - and fast, no pun intended. To this end, the company bought out one of its foremost independent tuners, SBP, to both revise their mainstream cars for better handling and to create masterpiece performance editions. The Somervell SBP Sinclair, powered by a high-revving V4 and a whole lotta heart, was widely acknowledged as the most fun-to-drive front-driver at the dawn of the Nineties. The Somervell Switchblade, a unique sports car designed in lockstep with SBP, started Somervell’s tenure as the torchbearer of American light sports cars that would last for many years into the current day. The next step was spreading the goodness to Somervell’s most desired market: Young upwardly-mobile professionals.
The Somervell Scimitar, first released in 1995, was the result. An all-new premium midsize co-developed with German subsidiary Waldersee (who used it as a new-generation Freiherr) following the latest trends in retromodern fashion, the Scimitar was unapologetically sporty, unapologetically European-sized, and unapologetically rear-drive. Initially offered with V6s of both the normal and supercharged variety, the new car quickly earned points for its supreme balance and assertiveness on the road. An ultramodern four-wheel independent suspension, high-strength steel construction, standard speed-sensitive steering, and cutting-edge interior comfort appointments signified that the Scimitar’s engineers looked to the glorious future of Somervell just as much as its designers were informed by its glorious past.
All it took to complete the puzzle is Arlington’s 1997 update to its mainline V8, with the addition of an aluminum block and 24-valve heads. With more power and less weight, the mill could finally be slammed into the 1998 Scimitar without unbalancing or inconveniencing it any. The version in this car, a 303ci with twin throttle bodies and shorty headers, produces 355 horsepower while weighing under 400lbs; transmission choice is between a 5-speed auto, a 6-speed manual, or a close-ratio 6-speed “Pro” manual - this option would be sought after in years to come, as the single-gear sprint to 60 mph took less than 5 seconds with proper clutch work.
Far from being a brutal street rod, the SBP Scimitar came with a highly sophisticated suite of electronic aids called Digitally-Orchestrated Performance Enchancement. This included traction and stability control as well as continuously-variable road-sensing shock absorbers. The car’s body, both in sedan and wagon versions, was aerodynamically optimized to produce no lift whatsoever, and had sufficient streamlining overall to boast a 185 mph deregulated top speed. Directional sports rubber on rally-style forged alloys meant a 0.97g skidpad grip figure - again, unburdened by lift and thus accessible at any speed, ensured further via a torque-sensing differential and stiff constant-rate springs.
SBP would keep making performance versions of more and more of Somervell’s cars; one accomplishment was making the brand’s last remaining body-and-frame vehicle handle miraculously well. The first-generation SBP Scimitar, though, would long be remembered as the brand’s first direct retaliation against an import sports-sedan market that had left American cars for dead just a couple of short years before.
