The Peel P50 was one crazy small car, with room for
one, and a gearbox that didn’t have reverse, so parking it often required
giving it a push.
Its tiny proportions landed it a spot in the
Guinness Book of Records, for the smallest production car ever made, but its
development didn’t stop here, as the Peel Engineering Company, based on the
Isle of Man, eventually came up with a newer model - the Trident.
Advertised as featuring "saloon car comfort
with scooter cost", and said to have been "almost cheaper than
walking", thanks to its 49cc engine, which achieved a top speed of 61 km/h and reportedly returned 100 UK mpg (83.27 US mpg / 2.8 l/100 km), the
Peel Trident added a new body design, highlighted by a clear plastic dome.
It had room for two occupants, in theory, because in
practice, the car could only accommodate the driver, who still had to step out
and push it into a parking space, as its 3-speed gearbox still lacked reverse.
Pictured here is chassis number E185, which was
assembled in 1965 and delivered new to the United Kingdom. It ended up in the
possession of its current owner in March 2014, who purchased it after being
restored, and it now sits quietly in the United States, waiting for the
RMSothebys auction, in Monterey, California, on August 18-19.
