SV-1
The SV-1 is a sports car first manufactured in Gylias in 1966. Known for its gull-wing doors and composite bodywork, it became the most famous Gylian car, earning popularity for its stylish appearance.
It was first designed and built at the Usine automobile d'Kanedras ("Kanedras Automobile Factory", abbreviated UAK) in 1966. It was designed with an emphasis on safety — its name was an abbreviation of "safety vehicle one" — and it received high marks in this respect from Consumer Reports.
The SV-1 is a two-door, two-seat hatchback with gull-wing doors and hidden headlamps. Safety features included a tubular steel perimeter frame, roll cage and a chassis capable of withstanding a high velocity impact without deformation. Its bodywork is a composite of acrylic resin bonded to a fibreglass substrate. The bodywork presented the most persistent issues with the original production, mainly due to lack of adhesion between the two. UAK estimated that in 1972, 15–25% of produced parts were affected or lost to poor bonding.
Despite these issues, the SV-1 was a significant success upon release. It was acclaimed for its stylish design, winning a notable following among georgettes, and became an iconic product of the Golden Revolution, representative of socialised luxury. In the 1970s, Governor Anaïs Nin pushed for and won the opening of an SV-1 production line in Sváen, to much fanfare.
The car has remained popular and in use today, with production passing from UAK to various companies over the years. Currently, the official license to manufacture SV-1s is held by Miyashita Industries, which replaced the previous engine with a plug-in hybrid engine.