Mar 22, 2019  •  Exclusives  •  14 Comments

EXCLUSIVE: 1976 Sebring CitiCar

I love a good oddball car and there aren’t too many cars as odd or unusual than a Sebring City Car! We’ve come across a few of these over the years, but more often than not, they are trashed from being left outside. Well, that’s not the case with Reader Bret A’s Sebring. This car is in beautiful condition and has covered just 122 miles since new. It’s been stored inside all these years and it really shows. It’s going to need new batteries and brake work, but those are pretty simple tasks to undertake. And with an asking price of $3,950 this one won’t break the bank. The little work it needs shouldn’t cost all that much either, so if you’ve been looking for a special oddball, be sure to message Bret via the form below! It’s located in Sylvania, Ohio and is ready for a new home.

What Makes It Special? All original rare car. 122 Miles. Always stored in climate controlled building

Body Condition: The body is in excellent condition and really shines.

Mechanical Condition: Needs new batteries and brake rebuild.

With 4,444 of these CitiCars built, they really are quite rare, but interestingly they held the production record for American built electric cars until Tesla came along. As cool and fast as Teslas are, I’d much rather show up to a car show in this little wedge. You’d have the most eye-catching vehicle there and one of the slowest. If you wanted to get crazy, you could install a modern motor with lithium batteries and have scary fast oddball with considerably more range. Given how clean and original this one is, it might be best to just install new batteries and enjoy the casual 38 mph top speed and 40-mile range.

Alright, so an upgrade might not be a terrible idea if you are actually going to drive it in any kind of traffic. Every time I see these little cars I can’t help but marvel at how long people have been trying to make electric cars work. They have advanced considerably in the past 40+ years since Sebring-Vanguard was building these.

Given its limited speed and range, Bret is including a trailer to tow it around with the sale. If you have any questions, would like to set up a time to inspect it or would like to make him an offer, be sure to use the form below. So, load up your fuel guzzling pickup or SUV and head out to Sylvania to pick this electric oddball up!

  • Asking Price: $3,950
  • Location: Sylvania, Ohio
  • Mileage: 122
  • Title Status: Clean
  • VIN: 095SR2443

Contact The Seller

Josh About Josh

As the Managing Editor and co-founder of Barn Finds, I spend my days tracking down finds to feature, helping our team of writers perfect their articles, and provide sellers with guidance on how best to find a good home for their classic. In what little spare time I have, I spend it wrenching in the Barn Finds Garage.

Comments

  1. Rick McKee
    Mar 22, 2019 at 10:18am

    Interesting find. I find these cars fascinating however I would never drive this car in any traffic. Here in Dallas it would be like painting a bullseye on it.

    Like 0
  2. Papa Martin
    Mar 22, 2019 at 11:59am

    Just too cool. Would love to have it, but a 3800km road trip is just a bit too far :-)

    Like 0
  3. PRA4SNW
    Mar 22, 2019 at 1:18pm

    Looks much better than the later model with the batteries in the elongated bumpers.

    Like 1
  4. Sherminator
    Mar 22, 2019 at 2:28pm

    I like that it comes with a trailer to haul it home after the batteries are dead.

    Like 1
  5. ramblergarage
    Mar 22, 2019 at 6:30pm

    I had one of these new in 1976 for 2 weeks. It ran fine but couldn’t handle the PA hills and the electric motor overheated. They took it back after I complained. You couldn’t go anywhere without a people gathering around it.

    Like 1
  6. Kenneth Carney
    Mar 22, 2019 at 7:17pm

    Now that’s what I’m talkin’ about! I’d upgrade the batteries and controllers
    and leave the rest alone. Would be
    great for errands around town. I’d also
    add solar panels to extend its range as
    the panels are better and provide more
    usable power than those made just a
    few years ago. When I’m not working
    on my truck, I plan to build a solar
    powered wheelchair that can run on
    either solar or battery power, or both
    to provide a bit more speed. Once I
    get the bugs out, I’ll try it out on one of
    these– provided I can get hold of a shell
    to build a new and improved Citicar. If
    not, I can always use a Yugo!

    Like 0
  7. Mike
    Mar 23, 2019 at 12:46pm

    A Smart car from the cubist period.

    Like 1
    • Ike Onick
      Mar 23, 2019 at 3:23pm

      I think it looks like an old-style storage locker at the New York Port Authority Terminal

      Like 1
  8. Fogline
    Mar 23, 2019 at 11:56pm

    Really? No comments on Clarkson driving one of these through the BBC. Perhaps that was a smaller one person version?

    Like 0
  9. MARK TILTON
    Mar 24, 2019 at 10:39am

    I put two of these back together in the Chicago area 20 years ago. At terminal velocity of 36mph rode and drove the same as a kids wagon driven at that speed down a long hill —. These almost end electric car advancement in it tracks , it did for 40 years !!!

    Like 0
  10. B
    Apr 21, 2022 at 12:53pm

    Absolutely a find. After watching a YouTube video by Simone giertz, I decided to make one of these vehicles the focus for a project in making it a viable alternative for my current junker. If you know anywhere else where one of these is feel free to reply.

    Like 0
  11. Ralph Trepanier
    Apr 24, 2022 at 1:38pm

    Well, after owning for a decade and sorting with new batteries, etc. we are selling our citicar, a 1976 yellow chunk of cheese in good cosmetic condition also.
    Has modern controller, converter, etc. I planned on listing this week.
    Ralph

    Like 0
    • Josh Joshua MortensenAuthor
      Apr 26, 2022 at 12:41pm

      Hi Ralph, you can list it as an exclusive here: barnfinds.com/sell/! We look forward to seeing it.

      Like 0
      • Ralph Trepanier
        Apr 26, 2022 at 1:14pm

        Joshua,

        Thanks for the offer. Wasn’t aware I was able and I entered it on FB MKT. Boston yesterday, oh well!

        Like 0

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