The Sylva Striker is the most enduring of the Sylva models and was a radical evolution of the Star and Leader dropping the Viva

Vauxhall Viva

The Viva was a small family car produced by Vauxhall Motors in a succession of three versions between 1963 and 1979. These were known as the HA, the HB and the HC series....

 donor car in favour of purpose built suspension and lighter bodywork. The car was aimed at two markets, the home car builder that required an economical kit that could be built using readily available mechanics tools and the more demanding race car builder who favoured good handling and simple design.

The Striker has proved popular and successful on UK race tracks, most notably in the kit-car race series run by the 750 Motor Club

750 Motor Club

750 Motor Club is an auto racing club in the UK. It was founded in 1939 and was originally for Austin 7 fans . It later led to racing and the 750 Formula where specials were raced...

.

The Striker, was available in kit form, and could be built with a variety of engines, for example a Ford Crossflow, Ford Zetec

Ford Zetec engine

Ford Motor Company used the Zetec name on a variety of Inline-4-cylinder automobile engines. It was coined to replace "Zeta" on a range of 1.6 L to 2.0 L multi-valve engines introduced in 1991...

, Toyota Twin-cam or even a motorcycle engine. These cars have high power-to-weight ratios and are best enjoyed in the summer due to minimal weather protection. In the UK all kit-cars are now put though the SVA (Single Vehicle Approval) to abtain a road vehicle licence. The Mk 4 version of this car, known as the Phoenix, was also manufactured in New Zealand from 1989.

The front suspension initially had outboard springs and shock absorbers, but with later versions, this was moved inboard with a rocker arm upper suspension arm. There were two types of rear suspension offered; one with a live axle, located by trailing arms

Trailing arm

thumb|220px|Trailing arm rear suspension of [[Front-engine, front-wheel drive layout|FF]] carsA trailing-arm suspension is an automobile suspension design in which one or more arms are connected between the axle and the chassis. It is usually used on rear axles...

, leading arms

Trailing arm

thumb|220px|Trailing arm rear suspension of [[Front-engine, front-wheel drive layout|FF]] carsA trailing-arm suspension is an automobile suspension design in which one or more arms are connected between the axle and the chassis. It is usually used on rear axles...

 and a panhard rod

Panhard rod

A Panhard rod is a component of a car suspension system that provides lateral location of the axle...

. The other had independent rear suspension.

In 2002, Raw Engineering

Raw Engineering

Raw Engineering is a kit car manufacturer established in 1999. In 2002 they acquired the rights to the Sylva Striker kit car, which they have since modified and on which the Fulcrum is based. It is based in Shelwick, just north of Hereford. In August 2010 the company was purchased by Callum and...

acquired the rights to the Striker and have made a number of modifications and variations since.