Peel P50

Last updated

Peel P50
1965 Peel P50, The World's Smallest Car (Lane Motor Museum).jpg
Overview
Manufacturer Peel Engineering Company and Peel Engineering Ltd. (UK-based)
Production1962–1965 [1]
2010–present (EV)
2011–present (Petrol)
Assembly Peel, Isle of Man 1962–1965
Sutton-in-Ashfield, England 2010–present
Designer Cyril Cannell
Body and chassis
Class Microcar
Body style 1-door coupé
Layout Side engine, rear wheel drive [2]
Related Peel Trident, Peel Viking Sport, Peel Manxcar
Powertrain
Engine
Transmission
Chronology
Predecessor Peel Manxcar
Successor Peel Trident

The Peel P50 is a three-wheeled microcar originally made from 1962 to 1965 by the Peel Engineering Company on the Isle of Man, and then from 2011 to present. It was listed in the 2010 Guinness World Records as the smallest production car ever made. [4] The original model has no reverse gear, but a handle at the rear allows the very lightweight car to be maneuvered physically when required.

Contents

Designed as a city car, it was advertised in the 1960s as capable of seating "one adult and a shopping bag." The vehicle's only door was on its left side and equipment included a single windscreen wiper and one headlight. Standard colours were Daytona White, Dragon Red, and Dark Blue. The 1963 model retailed for £199 when new (about £4433 in 2021). The company produced 50 P50s, of which 27 are known to still exist, one of which was sold for a record US$176,000 at a Sotheby's auction in March 2016. [5]

In 2010 Peel Engineering Ltd. in England reinstated manufacturing of the P50 and Trident models from its premises in Sutton-in-Ashfield, England. [6] Externally this car is very similar to the original, with the same dimensions and kerb weight as the original, but with mechanical differences in the suspension, steering, and drive-train, and a fully functioning reverse gear, ensuring they are road-legal under today's rules. Production included petrol models with a 49 cc four-stroke engine and electric models with an electric moped motor and gelled-electrolyte batteries. The top speed of both cars is about 28 mph (45 km/h).

Statistics

At 54 in (137 cm) long and 39 in (99 cm) wide [7] and with an unladen weight of 130 pounds (59 kg), as of 2021 the P50 holds the record as the smallest car ever to go into production. [4] The Peel P50's diminutive size and width means that it can quite easily fit through doorways and enter buildings, as demonstrated by Jeremy Clarkson where, during a 2007 episode of Top Gear , he drove a blue P50 through the BBC's Television Centre.

1962–1966

Peel P50 next to its successor, the Peel Trident Peel P50 (1964) & Peel Trident (1965) (48773441888).jpg
Peel P50 next to its successor, the Peel Trident

The original P50 used a 3 cu in (49.2 cc) DKW single-cylinder engine, which gave it a top speed of approximately 37 mph (60 km/h), and was equipped with a three-speed manual transmission that had no reverse. [3] Consequently, turning in a confined area could be achieved only by pushing, or lifting the car using the handle on the rear and physically pulling it round. The makers and users claim fuel consumption of 100 mpgimp (2.8 L/100 km; 83 mpgUS).

In 1963, as a publicity stunt, a Peel P50 was taken to the top of Blackpool Tower in the lift and driven around the observation balcony. [8]

At least one prototype, the Peel P55 Saloon Scooter, has also survived. Unlike the production Peel P50 (along with all developments and replicas thereof), this prototype used the less stable layout of a single wheel at the front and two at the back.

Approximately 47 Peel P50s were sold at £299 each.

On 15 February 2013 at the Bruce Weiner RM Auction a genuine 1964 Peel P50 (Registration number ARX 37B) achieved in excess of US$ 120,000 (£ 80,000).

Since 2011

In 2011 businessmen Gary Hillman and Faizal Khan went to the Dragons' Den asking for £80,000. They got the investment and started a new company to put their revised models into production. Three replica models were available initially: Gas, Eco and Fun. The line was later reduced to two: the Petrol and Electric models. These are hand-built to order in Sutton-in-Ashfield by Micro Car Specialists for the domestic and export markets.

In 2018 it was reported that Peel Engineering sells around fifteen P50s annually, plus ten or so continuations of its bigger sister, the two-seat bubblecar Peel Trident. [9] The conventional piston engined P50 is more requested in the UK, priced at £14,879 – whereas greater demand for the Peel comes from the US, where the electric model (at £13,679) helps owners to comply with emissions regulations.

Peel P50 interior Peel P50 (1964).jpg
Peel P50 interior

The original Peel P50 has always been road-legal in the UK, though the many replica versions are classed as Kitcar and as such, require MSVA inspection for 3 wheel Moped or 4 wheel Quadricycle. It is street-legal in the US. Cars were exported to other countries, [10] sometimes being classified as a moped (e.g. the P50 that went to Finland). [11] In the Netherlands there are two original Peel Tridents registered as tricycles, but the Trident replica with the 50cc engine and 59 km/h (37 mph) top speed was registered as a moped. In Amsterdam the Ripley's Believe It Or Not museum has one. Due to local traffic rules it may not be driven on the cycle path. In Wassenaar the Louwman Museum had an original P50 on display; it was on the poster of the "Dwarfcar" themed exhibition.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Microcar</span> Smallest automobile classification

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isetta</span> Motor vehicle

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bugatti Veyron</span> Sports car by Bugatti (2005–2015)

The Bugatti Veyron EB 16.4 is a mid-engine sports car, designed and developed in Germany by the Volkswagen Group and Bugatti and manufactured in Molsheim, France, by French automobile manufacturer Bugatti. It was named after the racing driver Pierre Veyron.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zündapp</span> German motorcycle manufacturer

Zündapp was a major German motorcycle manufacturer founded in 1917 in Nuremberg by Fritz Neumeyer, together with the Friedrich Krupp AG and the machine tool manufacturer Thiel under the name "Zünder- und Apparatebau G.m.b.H." as a producer of detonators. In 1919, as the demand for weapons parts declined after World War I, Neumeyer became the sole proprietor of the company, and two years later he diversified into the construction of motorcycles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Motobécane</span> French manufacturer of bicycles

Motobécane was a French manufacturer of bicycles, mopeds, motorcycles, and other small vehicles, established in 1923. "Motobécane" is a compound of "moto", short for motorcycle; "bécane" is slang for "bike."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Messerschmitt KR200</span> Motor vehicle

The Messerschmitt KR200, or Kabinenroller, is a three-wheeled bubble car designed by the aircraft engineer Fritz Fend and produced in the factory of the German aircraft manufacturer Messerschmitt from 1955 until 1964.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peel Trident</span> Motor vehicle

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peel Engineering Company</span> Engineering company

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Motorized bicycle</span> Bicycle with an attached motor or engine and transmission

A motorized bicycle is a bicycle with an attached motor or engine and transmission used either to power the vehicle unassisted, or to assist with pedalling. Since it sometimes retains both pedals and a discrete connected drive for rider-powered propulsion, the motorized bicycle is in technical terms a true bicycle, albeit a power-assisted one. Typically they are incapable of speeds above 52 km/h (32 mph), however in recent years larger motors have been built, allowing bikes to reach speeds of upwards of 72 km/h.

Trident Cars Ltd was a British car manufacturer based originally in Woodbridge, then in Ipswich, Suffolk between 1966 and 1974. The company produced a small series of sports cars with different engines from 1967 to 1977 and was later re-established in 1999.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scootacar</span> Motor vehicle

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.

Egon Brütsch Fahrzeugbau, usually shortened to Brütsch, was a German automotive design and automaker based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quadricycle (EU vehicle classification)</span> EU vehicle category for four-wheeled microcars

The quadricycle is a European Union vehicle category for four-wheeled microcars, which allows these vehicles to be designed to less stringent requirements when compared to regular cars. Quadricycles are defined by limitations in terms of weight, engine power and speed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scooter (motorcycle)</span> Low-speed motorcycle

A scooter is a motorcycle with an underbone or step-through frame, a seat, a transmission that shifts without the operator having to operate a clutch lever, a platform for the rider's feet, and with a method of operation that emphasizes comfort and fuel economy. Elements of scooter design were present in some of the earliest motorcycles, and motor scooters have been made since at least 1914. More recently, scooters have evolved to include scooters exceeding 250cc classified as Maxi-scooters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bamby Cars</span> Motor vehicle

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.

Ze'ev "Zef" Eisenberg was the British founder of sports nutrition brand Maximuscle, an ultra-speed motorbike racer and television presenter.

ACOMA are a French microcar maker that operated between 1972 and 1984. The cars were designed by Émile Boussereau from Villeneuve-la-Comtesse and produced in Laval from 1970 to 1972 after which manufacturing moved to Saint-Barthélemy-d'Anjou, near Angers, until production stopped in 1984.

References

  1. "BBC Isle of Man - History - The small car with the big reputation". Douglas, Isle of Man: BBC Isle of Man. 20 March 2008. Retrieved 23 May 2009.
  2. "The World's Smallest Production Car - The Peel P50". Vince's Worthwhile Website. Retrieved 23 May 2009.
  3. 1 2 "1964 Peel P50". www.audrainautomuseum.org.
  4. 1 2 Craig Glenday, ed. (2009). Guinness World Records 2010 (56 ed.). Guinness World Records Limited. p.  162. ISBN   978-1904994497.
  5. "Peel P50: Tiny car that sold for big bucks". www.driven.co.nz. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
  6. "Sutton-in-Ashfield firm wins order for new microcars". BBC News. 16 December 2013. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
  7. Top Gear. "Tiny A-Peel". Series 10 Episode 3. London: BBC Worldwide. Retrieved 23 May 2009.
  8. Currie, Bob (23 May 1963). "Fresh air and fun". Motor Cycle. 110 (3128). Iliffe Specialist Publications: 622.
  9. New Peel P50L a drive in the world's smallest car Autocar, 2019-03-13
  10. "PEEL P50". Register of Unusual Microcars. Archived from the original on 19 February 2020. Retrieved 23 May 2009.
  11. "Maailman pienin auto - Pirteä Peel P50" (in Finnish). Archived from " the original on 30 March 2009. Retrieved 28 December 2013.