Finding Out if Top Gear Was Wrong About These 

having two people in the car actually helps it to not flip over

Imagine a High Low series on cars like these

The fact that Clarkson was alone and going down a very steep slope into flat turning probably helped a lot (along with the modification the production had made)

The main success of the Reliant, as you mentioned, was the fact you could drive it on a motorcycle licence and did not have to take the more arduous car driving test. Lightweight fibreglass body also meant they were quite economical for its time. My mate had a Reliant Regal, only 700cc I believe and it did about 60mpg (UK gallon mind...) - I remember it taking off on a humpback bridge - one day we parked it up and a van took out the right hand side - we drove it home with no door and the roof hanging down, not a problem as it had a proper chassis. In the wet, you could "power" slide it round roundabouts. We lived to tell the tale....

Fun fact. Clarkson is on record for saying that he regretted the section on the Robin. When they left the BBC and moved to Amazon they bought Robins for use in London as they are exempt from the various taxes implemented on the roads. Clarkson really liked his Robin as a runabout in London. And kept it for sometime after the others had been moved on.

Justin’s really come a long way in a year with Donut, mad respect for all the segments he’s been in lately.

Fun fact; the Reliant Robin was also used as the chassis for Luke's Landspeeder.

I do like that you were able to appreciate the car for what it was meant to be (a cheap transportation device) and not just make fun of it all along. For the production numbers, it should be noted that Reliant made several other vehicles beside 3 wheelers and was at some point the second-largest British car manufacturer. One of their othe famous car was the Reliant Scimitar, a sports (yes) car that came with a 4 banger or a V6. Because they used fiberglass early for making their cars lighter, they had partnership with Ford of Britain to make fiberglass body parts for Ford. They also helped design car for an Israeli company and also designed the Anadol, a Turkish car that was produced for 20 years. The nail in Reilant's three wheelers market was that the specific provision for licence that allowed to drive their 3 wheelers with a motorcycle licence was removed, thus making their 3 wheelers cars requiring a regular driving licence.

The clip of Jeremy flipping and then sliding in the Reliant Robin is one of my favourite top gear moments of all time, always makes me smile 😂

Respect to the dude who sacrificed his reliant

Actually the episode where they turned a Reliant robin into a space shuttle was one of the most epic things I've ever seen. I believe at the time if it had sucessfully separated and landed the Robin they would've qualified for the X prize.

10:15 how when it started leaking they called that segment “WRX”😂

They locked the rear diff. The secret to the robin is the open rear diff. As you start to roll, the inside rear tire comes off the ground and 99% of the time the power loss to the wheel on the ground was enough to slow the car to a safe speed for the corner. If you try REALLY hard, you can roll one with a stock, open rear diff, however once you lock the rear diff, both tires have power all the time so you can maintain corner speed and even accelerate through a corner.

My theory for the differential is that they welded it. With an open differential, once your car starts to flip over and one tire gets into the air it will get all the power. Therefore the car will lose speed which often is enough to stop it from flipping over. If it's welded then you can keep adding gas as you're flipping which therefore lets the car keep tipping. I've learnt this from playing around in BeamNG lmao

I'm from Tamworth (Wilnecote actually) originally. Reliants were built in Two Gates just a smidge down the old Roman Road (Watling Street) My dad was a skilled machinist working in aerospace and was lured to Southern California in 1968 as machinists were in short supply. A lot of my relatives worked in the mines. My dad had the choice of being drafted or working in the mines. After 2 weeks in the mines, the Army sounded safer. He also did a similarly short stint at Reliant . . . something about his fist and the boss's chin. Laying up fiberglass will do that to a person. Yep Reliants were pretty common there in the 60's. They were taxed and licensed as motorcycles and you only needed a MC drivers license. We were an exception. My mother drove, had her own car, an ancient Ford Prefect with the turn indicators that flipped out the sides of the car while "the family car" was an Austin Mini (of course, as you do as a family of 4). You have to try really hard to flip a Mini . . .

A few missteps here. One, the Robin wasn't made specifically for miners, nor was it marketed specifically local to Tamworth. Remember that the UK is about twice the size of Pennsylvania. Most US States are about the size of an entire European COUNTRY. Distances mean something very different here, Stateside, from what they do "across the pond". The Reliant Robin was built specifically to take advantage of the UK's then-existent loophole in the drivers' licensing laws of their era, which really were created post-WW2 with the idea in mind of a motorcycle with a sidecar. Their main competitor was Bond Cars Ltd which made the (in)famous Bond Minicar for the same purpose. Eventually, Reliant absorbed Bond, which led to the release of the Bond Bug in the mid-1970s, using a Robin chassis but a vastly different body, as a bit of a raspberry to the losing Marque (US: Badge), by way of a send-off. Both companies were suffering at the time, as the loophole they'd built the lucrative side of their business around had closed in the very early 1970s, cutting off their cashflow by essentially cutting the bottom out of the market. Also worthy of note, the Robin _predated_ the Regal. It was one of those things where the Regal was brought in as the Robin-but-much-better-and-newer, but the Robin name was so well-known, vs the then-unknown Regal, that they brought the Robin back because that's what people actually bought. Remember how Ford, here in the US, tried to replace the Taurus with the Five Hundred, and how _that_ went? Same thing. FWIW, been to the UK a few times as a tourist and fell in love with the place. My heart will forever pine for a flat in London...

The 3 wheelers aren’t all that reliant made, they also made some very sleek sports cars. The reliant scimitar was one of their models that started as a coupe and ended as a gte. Princess Anne went though about 8 of them over time before they went bust and was taken on by middle bridge. I own a 1974 reliant scimitar se5a and it’s truly a fantastic car, the Essex 3.0 v6 pulls really well and the car handles really well for something from 74.

You guys need to do a challenge road trip. All of you get a certain amount to use on a car of their choice. If you are slowly turning into top gear, might as well do it right

I have a Reliant Rialto, and it's the most fun I've had in a car in a long time. It feels like driving a go-kart, and because it's so small - it can go anywhere. I have to keep a spare car battery on the passenger side to help keep balance, and have had it on two wheels way too many times... Great little drifters in the rain as well!

If you ever get a chance you should check out some of Reliants other cares. The Sabre was a lovely sports car and the Scimitar is a genuinely good car (3 litre ford Essex in the earlier cars). It’s also worth mentioning that Reliant constructed the fibreglass bodies for the Ford RS200.

Wow what a cool owner. He didn’t seem to be upset that you wrecked his car. I bet these robin cars are pretty rare in the United States. Great video.

There was a documentary of the entire staff doing that bit, and they actually had to do a lot of modifications to make it roll. Since it had a incredible center of mass. This one shown isn't the same model.

Aw, I grew up with these cars. My dad was an ex-biker who "upgraded" to Reliants when he started a family. They are nippy enough around town, with 848cc and half the weight of a Fiesta. My dad always drove fast but carefully and never lifted a wheel. I vividly remember coming back from holiday up the motorway, family of four and our luggage in the back, 80mph all the way. Exciting, and hilarious seeing the faces of people in the "four-wheelers" we passed... That was a gleaming white one too, but we always had the estate ("wagon") versions. Then there was the day we raced the train... Anyhoo, thank you for bringing back some epic memories!

My dad (now 62) still has a bond bug which is like the racing version of reliant robins, he’s Rolled it once or twice and it suffered fire damage and we rebuilt it together which gave me my own love of cars. Quirky brightly coloured car that always turns heads and gets people asking questions.

As a Brit, I really loved this episode. I appreciate the research they did about the car and everything else about Britain. Hope to see more British cars in the future.

7:54 actual footage of Thatcher burning in hell right now.

An old guy near me had the 4 wheeled version, the reliant kitten. It was immaculate. Someone else near me now has the reliant scimitar, strange but beautiful at the same time.

Reliant also made a four wheel version called the Kitten for those who needed a bit more stability in their lives. I used to own a Rialto and used to tow a twin motorcycle trailer with it regularly. Not a great car but it did its job!

I'm from the UK and the Relient Robin have been the centre motoring jokes for years.

My Grandad had a brown one and I remember him coming home really happy as he'd been caught speeding in his which was a big achievement. 😂

You guys were on my old snow plow route in Draper and Lehi for this shoot. Thanks for the memories of Suncrest, Empire Pass, the Alpine Loop and great piece on Luke's Speeder.

i love this video! i have all the top gear stuff and have watched it a lot…you guys should make this into a segment of “did top gear get it wrong” or u covering things they made up for cinematography

Stoked to hear my hometown Tamworth mentioned on Donut! I grew up 2 minutes drive from the Reliant factory and I can confirm - there were lots of miners around there (my dad was one!) but we had a Mini instead (I still do!). My first word as a baby was ‘Reliant’ though (I heard my older sisters reading the sign every timer we drove by!)

Of course they weren't. They are reliable, a lot of fun to drive and they help you meet interesting people. And nothing corners quite so well at high speeds as a Reliant Robin.

You guys have really come a long way, love the energy yall bounce off each other, has that genuine vibe old top gear had (not saying your show is the same, yall definitely have your own vibe, just mean comradery wise.) That being said, with you car crashes, i guess that makes him the hammond of the bunch lol. Great episode, sad the robins no more.

Anyone remember Mr. Bean constantly running a blue Reliant Robin off the road in every episode? That little tune they would play as he did it would always crack me up.

Just a slight correction, Tamworth is actually in the Midlands which isn't really "The North". But these were massively popular further north in mining towns for the reasons noted.

Driving a 3 wheel car on a mountain is outright max confidence

Those always remind me of a three wheeled Vespa we had as a shop vehicle when I was stationed in Germany. That thing was nuts, but really stable for a three-wheeler. And of course someone eventually rolled it.

Excellent Jeremy Clarkson impression 👏

Main selling point was as mentioned, in the uk you could drive one on a bike licence,when a lot of people had bikes as a day to day,all year round transport ...And put a webber carb on the 850 and it was pretty quick. ...(and it had a heater)

Brilliant! I live about 20 minutes from the old Reliant factory. There were loads of them on the roads when I was a kid, but thinking about it, I haven't seen one for years now.

My mate had the Regal we had it on Ainsdale beach, it wouldn't flip over under normal driving, the front hits the ground and the diff stops driving, so on Ainsdale beach he rolled it, but it took a lot of effort, another reason they was popular with the working class, same road tax as a motorcycle, my step father had a regal, then the supervan 3, before having a Robin. Reliant made a 4 wheel version called the Kitten, they also made the Scimitar sports car. i'm not sure but i think that had a ford V6 engine.

Clarkson impression was surprisingly on point lol

I love the way they’ve been doing these videos lately, it’s kinda like B2B and Up to Speed all in one

I once saw one of these with a couple of young guys in it cruising at 75mph on the motorway in the UK. You could get them up to a respectable speed as they were all fibreglass body. It wasn't just miners who brought these, the elderly loved these things. I think Honda stole that market.

As someone from Britain I appreciated how you respectful you were towards the Reliant Robin and the manufacturer. It was cars like the Robin which gave British cars their own charm (minus the horrendous reliability of some models).

Where my Grandma lived in North West England the issues supposedly with these was getting flipped by the wind getting 'caught' under the sleek flat front/underside. Was every windy there. One of the external cameras must have a polarized lens, it is picking up the in windscreen ''stuff'

Forgot to say during my rant that this is a wonderful, respectful and humorous review of an eccentric but noble little car. Thanks so much lads, I really enjoyed and appreciated that.

Brit here. I remember going to our local oval and catching a reliant robin banger race final. It was everything you'd want and could imagine. The guys were running mismatched wheels and im sure all sorts of wonky suspension mods, but these things were fast. And bonkers... About half the grid crossed the finish line, and 2nd place was pushed across it, upside-down, by 3rd place.

Great segment! We want to see more of this content. You guys have really stepped up your game and it is showing in a great way! 👏👏👏

I used to work with an 80 year old volunteer who'd had a Reliant Robin for 35 years. Every couple of weeks she'd roll it by accident, and usually she'd just get out and push it back over and carry on. She died of old age, bless. Not sure what happened to the car.

Great video! I've always wanted one of these cars. Reliant also made a 4 wheel version called the Kitten, as well as other 4 wheel vans. They are also well known for its Scimitar sports cars. An interesting video and a local company to me.

Never owned a Robin. But I did own a Bond Bug 700ES, fitted with a Reliant 850cc engine. Probably an even more quirky car than the Robin/Regal. Reliant also made a Sports saloon, called the Scimitar. Princess Anne probably helped sales by being stopped for speeding in one.

Tl;dr: Top Gear got their Robin to easily roll by fitting two different wheels to the rear axle, welded the rear differential and added a lot of extra weight to the driver's side for extra rolling. The Robin can flip, but it's fairly hard to do as its steering is fairly heavy and the live axle has a fairly hefty anti-roll bat given the size of the car. And it has an open differential, meaning all power will be sent to the wheel that's not touching the ground in case it happens, which will slow the car down and put that wheel back on the ground.

Great video. The Robin wasn't the last of course, that was the Rialto. Reliant had some funky 4 wheeled vehicles too. The Reliant Regal was a major prop in the classic BBC comedy show Only Fools and Horses

About 12 Robin shells with the revamped headlight surrounds turned up at the Auction (not specifically for Cars) in Beccles, Suffolk (200 miles or so from Tamworth) shortly after the Factory shut down. One of their more memorable head turning lots. Think they made about £200 each.

A very fair video. I glad you mentioned the motorcycle license as that was the key selling point of these. Until 1990 passing the motorcycle test was far easier than the car test. Ride three times around a block on something like a Honda C90 while the examiner walked around the block in the opposite direction watching you. There are stories of people falling off while out of view, hopping back on and passing. Many motorcyclists bought one of these when a family came along. A colleague bought one to go with his Triumph Trident. However, in 1990 the motorcycle test became far more difficult with the examiner following you on another bike. With the test now as difficult as that for a car most people concentrated on the car test. Source. I took my motorcycle and car tests in the early 1980s failing the car test twice. Bizarrely I am still licensed to ride the largest Harley Davidson (heavier than a Reliant) despite having never ridden a |Motorcycle over 100cc !

Stoked that you guys are finally able to drive one of these. Even happier that James and JUSTIN are the ones to do it.

You guys should check out a Bond Bug, its a 3 wheeled sports car based on the the Reliant Robin and looks cool AF in it's bright orange paintwork which is the only colour they sold them in

Great video fellas thanks so much for sharing. Although like AMC Gremlins and Pacers or Reliants weren’t sold here in Australia I’d still like to build such cars although with the Reliant I’d love to do one with a bigger engine and with 4 wheels not 3. They like the AMCs look like a fun and quirky little car.

In snow, the roads out of the mines had three tracks in them where the tyres went. The middle one was often not as well formed (not everyone had a Robin) - so could cause issues trying to stay on course!

no matter what happens top gear wiill always be in my heart

Hi Donut Media, these sort of videos are really well researched and produced. At the same time they are light and fun to watch! I think you got a format here with these two presenters bc now I wonder what they think of other cars aswell and I would watch another episode in a heartbeat. I really liked this and there is huge potential in these two fools especially! Upvoted and subscribed haha

Well researched video, relly enjoyable watch. Ive owned several Robins over the past 50 years and they are great fun to drive.

I live in the UK Midlands, and used to work right near the Reliant factory in the early 90s. They were a common sight on UK roads, and, to be honest, you still see a fair few knocking around. They did have their issues, but I have yet to see one on its roof! The UK law classing 3-wheel vehicles as motorbikes did make three-wheel cars very popular through the 50s-60s, but Reliant were by far the longest lasting builder of these cars. Performance was comparable to other economy cars of the time, but the Reliant always struck me as a little expensive for what you got. But then, you were buying a limited run hand made car! If I was on the look out for a Reliant, I'd probably go for a 4-wheel Kitten, or sporty Scimitar. Good video, btw👍🏻

This channel is slowly turning to Top Gear and i'm here for it.

You should look for a Reliant Kitten next, it's the 4 wheel version and has to be a contender for cutest car name ever

My mate had a canary yellow robin that was surprisingly quick. We had 100mph out of it a few times. Great fun. Really came alive in the wet. You could get ridiculous low speed drifting action going on. If you think they're unstable going forwards, I dare you to get over 5mph going backwards 😂 Another guy we know had a neon orange robin that he put a Ford 2.2 pinto engine in and wheelie bars to stop it eating the back end 😂

I owned several of these before I took my car test (drove them on a bike license) bloody good little motors for what they are and a lot more stable than people think.

I would really like them to make hi-low sleeper cars.

These were a relatively common sight on British roads when I was a kid. I'd love to see someone releasing a modern version as an EV city car to compete with Twizy and Ami.

The Reliant rear axle is much loved by trike builders in the UK.

10:06 why would you do this on a mountain pass? 😂😂😂

Glad our website at the Reliant Motor Club was able to help. :)

My Dad was the warranty manager for Reliant . Thanks for the balanced and entertaining report . I learnt to drive in a robin. Round the field of the annual gathering of the Reliant owners club . You might enjoy looking at the reliant Scimitar for a real contrast from the same company👍

The reliant is great, but the location you filmed this at is just gorgeous! Loved the video, keep the great work up!

You guys should do more up to speed, you haven’t made one in so long and I miss it and I think a lot of others do to.

One of the best videos you guys have ever made. They did a car called a Kitten, (4 wheels) and people have put v8s in them Also, thanks for getting the flag right!! My dad worked down the mines, but he was big money and had a Cortina GT.

"it takes at least 3 things to make it tip, and i'm not one of them" such an underrated joke

James and another 3 wheeled car? This should go well.

It's makes my heart happy to see you guys kicking it in my native land of Utah. Thanks bros

There was a Reliant dealer in Harrow in the 80s, our shop used to fit car stereos to the Robins as they didnt come as standard. There was a din shape stamped into the dash that you had to cut out for the radio. Running the speaker wires was horrible, if you rubbed the glass fibre with any bare skin it would go red and itch for days.

Top Gear was like professional wrestling. We all know it's fake, but it's real to me!

You guys are awesome, thank you for doing what you do really well. Love you guys.

My Granddad used to have Robins, I remember the last one he had, a yellow 1993 one. Reliant made some great cars though with 4 wheels, the Scimitar for me is one of the best looking British sports cars, especially the GTC!

That J-Bird bit they had before driving captures the essence of donut perfectly 👌🏻

What I'd heard about the Top Gear segment was that they welded the differential and put a larger tire on the passenger side to make it more likely to flip. A lot of stuff like that was actually 'faked' so to speak for Top Gear. There was a bit they did with vans for one of the episodes where Hammond had a little Suzuki Super Carry microvan, and he had to flip it by going into a corner too fast. Apparently it actually took a lot of tries to flip that little thing.

Seeing Justin on this channel and how much he's grown makes me simultaneously proud and a little jealous because I share the same name. It would be so cool to do what these guys do 🙂

Pretty Awesome seeing Donut film this in my hometown!!

Loved this video. Executed very well. I love y’all man.

You forgot to mention Reliant staff building the Ford RS200 shells. And yes, I've rolled a Robin in a field many moons ago!

If I had to guess, they probably also increased the steering angles so it can turn harder so it can swing it's weight around much harder.

For anyone in the US check out the Reliant Scimitar or SS1 to see what else they did. They also did the body for the Ford RS200

Really enjoy your fun, informative and goofy videos.... Please keep them coming

Basically will flip the same way you could flip your old ATC. Flipped my 85 250R quite a few times. Especially if you brake into a corner shifting the weight to the front and turning lol

Dad had bonds. Regals, Rialtos the lot, even 4 at one point. Interesting fact going into a corner in one the main reason people tip them is they break and weight been transferred tips you. The trick is IF YOUR brave enough drop a cog and floor it. My dad went round corners in a super robin he had at speeds that shouldn't be possible, If you get a yellow top engine they can reach 100mph as have slightly higher psi output. however I would suggest a spare set of underwear anywhere past 85mph as it's going to take 3miles to stop with drum breaks designed back in 1950s. Enjoyed the video brings back memories of all my traveling up till I got my license.

The Robin in Top Gear was specifically modified to tip over. This was and still is typical of Top Gear and Jeremy Clarkson in particular (when he was on the show). 'If you can't take it on a race track, make the tyres smoke then do 150 it's no good.' Miners are mentioned. For so many ordinary working class people at the time cars like this were the only cars they could afford to buy and run. It's like the Citroen 2cv - designed for French farmers who had the choice of a 2cv or nothing. They would have loved something better but this was out of their reach.

owned one of these cars one summer in my younger days so much fun to drive with a low seating position felt quite sporty 😉and the little engine as found in the mini slow but strong and reliable as for tipping over mine never did and i threw it around but it was possible to get one of the back wheels of the ground especially if the opposite tire was slightly under inflated 😅 x

Such great content! Laughed at the end!