 | |
| Company type | Limited Company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Vehicles |
| Founded | Late 1940s |
| Defunct | 1974 |
| Headquarters | Peel, Isle of Man |
Key people |
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The Peel Engineering Company was a manufacturing company based in Peel on the west coast of the Isle of Man that primarily made fibreglass boats through its subsidiary company West Marine Ltd. and fairings for motorcycles. [1]
Cyril Cannell founded the Peel Engineering Company in Peel in the late 1940s. [2] At first he mainly manufactured GRP fairings for motorcycles and cars. The sports fairings were recognisable for their styling with integral 'blisters' enclosing the handlebar-ends and rider's hands, and were available for racing, named Mountain Mile, with a similar sports-style for road use incorporating a distinctive, large rectangular Cibié headlamp, named Peel 707. A different design was for touring, aptly named TT Tourer. [3] [4] In 1955 Cannell built the first Peel minicar. The company also built an experimental hovercraft design in 1961 powered by a 500 cc Triumph engine. [5]
On 31 December 1964 the company was renamed Peel Engineering Limited. [2] Another source gives 8 January 1965 as the date of dissolution of the original company. [6] The directors were Cyril Cannell and George Henry Kissack. [2] In 1965, Peel arranged for all fairing production to be transferred under licence to Mike Ivory of Luton, Bedfordshire, England. Prototype and development work continued in the Isle of Man. [7]
Peel Engineering developed the Peel Manxcar concept vehicle, and the Peel P-1000 4 wheeled microcars, and the Peel P50 and Peel Trident 3 wheeled microcars, in addition to the Peel Viking Sport and prototype GRP Minis for BMC. [8] [9] These models constitute the only automobiles manufactured on the Isle of Man. A limited-run Peel Manxkart go-kart was also produced. The Peel P50 is in the Guinness Book Of World Records as the world's smallest production car.
In 1966 Peel stopped producing cars, concentrating again on motorcycle fairings and – under the name West Marine Ltd. – on the construction of fiberglass boats, especially small fishing boats with outboard motors such as the Peel Inshoreman 18. [10]
After the death of George Henry Kissack on 16 March 1972, his widow Eileen May Kissack became director on 3 November 1972. [2] She resigned from the post on 25 November 1973 and was replaced by Alice Victoria Maud Cannell on 30 November 1973. [2] On 10 May 1974, the owners decided to dissolve the company, which was then carried out on 29 August 1974. [2] Another source confirms 29 August 1974 as the dissolution date. [6]
In August 2010, it was announced that two British entrepreneurs, Gary Hillman and Faizal Khan from Peel Engineering in Sidcup, founded in 2008, were rebuilding the P50 almost to its original state. [11] [12] Instead of the 45 cc petrol engine used at the time, an electric motor now drives the single rear wheel. The new edition, which will only be produced in 50 units, will also have a reverse gear. The price of the car per unit will be around 15,300 euros. [13]
Arthur Alan Evans produces replicas of the Peel P50 in his Gainsborough- based company Bambycars, which he founded in 2011. [14] [15]
Reliant Motor Company was a British car manufacturer based in Tamworth, Staffordshire, England. It was founded in 1935 and ended car production in 2002, the company had been known as "Reliant Motor Company" until the 1990s when it became "Reliant Motors" and then finally became "Reliant Cars LTD" after production had ended of the Robin as the company was restructured to be a car import business. It is now a dormant company and the only entity left is a separate parts company created called "Reliant Partsworld" which produces parts for Reliant vehicles.
Microcar is a term often used for the smallest size of cars, with three or four wheels and often an engine smaller than 700 cc (43 cu in). Specific types of microcars include bubble cars, cycle cars, invacar, quadricycles and voiturettes. Microcars are often covered by separate regulations to normal cars, having relaxed requirements for registration and licensing.
Triumph Engineering Co Ltd was a British motorcycle manufacturing company, based originally in Coventry and then in Meriden. A new company, Triumph Motorcycles Ltd, based in Hinckley, gained the name rights after the end of the company in the 1980s and is now one of the world's major motorcycle manufacturers.
The Isetta is an Italian-designed microcar built under license in a number of different countries, including Argentina, Spain, Belgium, France, Brazil, Germany, and the United Kingdom. Because of its egg shape and bubble-like windows, it became known as a bubble car, a name also given to other similar vehicles.
A cyclecar was a type of small, lightweight and inexpensive motorized car manufactured in Europe and the United States between 1910 and the early 1920s. The purpose of cyclecars was to fill a gap in the market between the motorcycle and the car. It could accommodate only two passengers, often sitting in tandem.
Royal Enfield was a brand name under which The Enfield Cycle Company Limited of Redditch, Worcestershire, England, sold motorcycles, bicycles, lawnmowers and stationary engines which it manufactured. Enfield Cycle Company also used the brand name "Enfield" without the "Royal". Later in 1994, Eicher Motors an Indian multinational automobile manufacturing company took over the company's full ownership.
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The Peel P50 is a three-wheeled microcar originally made from 1962 to 1965 by the Peel Engineering Company on the Isle of Man, and then from 2010 to present. It was listed in the 2010 Guinness World Records as the smallest production car ever made. The original model has no reverse gear, but a handle at the rear allows the very lightweight car to be maneuvered physically when required.
The Peel Trident is the second three-wheeled microcar built by the Peel Engineering Company on the Isle of Man. An all-new design from its one-seat counterpart the Peel P50, the Trident has two seats.
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Scootacar was a British three-wheeled microcar built in Hunslet, Leeds by Scootacars Ltd a division of the railway locomotive builder, the Hunslet Engine Company between 1957 and 1964.
A bike-engined car is a small or light weight car that is powered by an engine that was designed for use in a motorcycle.
West Marine Ltd. was a wholly owned subsidiary of the Peel Engineering Company, which was founded by designer, inventor and engineer Cyril Cannell in the early 1950s to make Microcars and GRP boats and other fibreglass products.
The Peel Manxcar was a prototype 2+2 seater saloon car designed by Cyril Cannell and Henry Kissack and manufactured in 1955 by the Manx Peel Engineering Company. The projected purchase price of the assembled Manxcar was "....ten shillings short of £300, including purchase tax." Initially renamed from "Peel Manxman" because of the Excelsior (Coventry) motorbike of the same name, the Manxcar never entered standard production.
The automotive industry in Bangladesh is the third largest in South Asia.
Bamby Cars was a British-built marque of microcars produced in small numbers in Hull, England, in the early 1980s. Bambys were designed and built by Alan Evans, who manufactured a one-off replica of the Peel P50 which also served as a prototype for further production.
