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 38mph (61km/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.
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