As an Australian I just keep thinking how quickly you would cook under that perspex dome. Mid-February, 38 degrees, cloudless sky. Done to perfection in about ten minutes 😊
If it had stayed in production, a tinted bubble top or some other add-on shade/canopy sounds like a good idea. Conversely it would be warm in the winter provided you had a sunny day to trap the heat in, like a green house.
It really does look amazingly retrofuturistic! Hats off to Peel for turning, what would essentially be a concept car, into a small production run. I guess people do compare the safety of these against a car, but perhaps it would be fairer to compare them to a scooter or motorbike, neither of which offers much in the way of crash protection? Excellent review, great to see one of these driving around!
The Trident is Pure Genius! I have known about this car since I was 14 I bought a classic car magazine back in the late 80's and there was a feature with micro cars. Most were owned by Andy Carter the Micro Car King. He created replicas, and you could buy the shell from him or a complete kit. The trident is my dream car!!
The Post-War need for micro cars really did throw up some very interesting designs and concepts, this being one of the more out there ideas. I wouldn't want to be in it on a warm day, I would pass out.
I love it! A microcar with a real bubble top ..needs to be photographed next to some Googie architecture! Thanks for the ride Steph , the sound of it reminded me a little of my old Vespas and the horn /kill switch housing is a dead ringer for the part used on Vespa scooters of the same era.
I bought one of these circa 55 years ago. Drove it round Belfast for 6 months. Rolled it twice. I was a little bit crazy. Managed to get 4 people into it one evening! It was one of the many vehicles I destroyed, which also included an Honda S800 and a CB450 Motorcycle.
Well Steph, that was hilarious ! I thought last week couldn't be beaten, but I was wrong ! You really do these videos so well, and no matter what you find to show us, you get it right, every time. Thank you so much for all the entertainment you give us. Take special care 🙂 X X
I wouldn’t have watched the video with another presenter, it would have been just a long series of childish jokes. But with you it gets the serious and factual treatment that it deserves. Great work as always.
You could almost imagine Homer driving one of those! Yes I know he wasn't 'invented' then but it would be the sort of crazy thing he would do. Also the Jetsons of course, right for them. I agree with you Steph that if we had not had such cars then some of the modern 'micros' would not be here. A couple of family members had a 'bubble car' (I called it that as I can't recall which one it was, though not a Peel).They took a roundabout a bit too quick and the thing tipped over but the point is they more or less walked away and had a tale to tell for many years afterwards. People should realise that there was a lot less traffic on the roads then and it was a totally different driving experience. Anyway that wasn't a rant at anyone so thanks Steph for bringing us this great video, very enjoyable. 👍👍
What a great interesting video. Just seen that one of these sold for £100k - blimey! They are no more of a death trap than a bicycle really and we seem happy to let children ride those on our roads. Not forgetting the Sinclair c5 too! I’d love a go in one, maybe a replica thou seeing their value. Thanks
Steph , oh no , not again ... Way too late , Saturday night here (NY) , to catch your UK morning ... As adorable as you and the ride are , it's Good morning and Goodnight again ...Seriously , we have to stop meeting like this , maybe I need to move there ...
Excellent presentation. Great history and description in detail on technology of the era applied. Cute little thing. That clear dome: Nice in cool dry weather. Boiled egg inside you drive that in summer in Texas. Hard boiled. But I like the odd thing. And it really is a quality video. I really enjoyed the hostess's excellent presentation.
Wonderful to see my two Peels that I acquired in the mid 70's, I purchased the Peel P50 in Birmingham and the Trident I acquired in Liverpool, I had a few spare DKW 49cc engines at the time so I used one for the Trident, I traded a spare P50 body for the Trident and so of course I used one of my spare engines, If he knew I had a few spare DKW 49cc engines at that time he would of wanted much more for the Trident body, I also displayed the Peel P50 on Southern television on a childrens game show called .Runaround' maybe it was around 1976-77, good luck with my old treasures and ENJOY.....
They repeated a lot of episodes of Runaround a couple of years ago and it seemed to get a bit of a cult following but I didn’t get up early enough to watch it.
On the British three wheel microcar theme, try and get hold of a Berkeley T60. There were a reasonable number of the built and it's a very interesting car indeed..
That might be fun for 10 minutes, but I wouldn't want to be in it for long on a hot sunny day, not that's been a problem here in the UK so far this year.
It reminds me of the car in the 'Jetsons' cartoon show back in the 60s. If it were mine, I would dress up like an alien and drive it around town. What a hoot that would be!
I rode in one back in 96 witb Andy Carter at a German micro meet, and loved every second of it. Always wanted one.. and i have had many many. Micros...
Jason Torchinsky's driven some really sketchy microcars on suburban Nashville stroads on his visits to the Lane Motor Museum there, but the way that Skoda in the parking lot loomed over things I don't blame you or the IoMMM for not hitting the road in the Peels.
Great video, wonderful. My father was lucky enough to drive one many years ago. He always described it as 'A noisy greenhouse spaceship, that could kill you whilst you smile like a lunatic.' Do they have any Viking Sport models? Going back many years, but that was a ton of fun, again according to my late father. Thanks for the videos Steph.
Wouldn't take much to make operating this car easier, more rugged and more fun to drive, whether that's with a gas engine or electric. I'd love to see someone like Colin Furze, James Burton or one of the other makers on RU-vid tackle this.
Believe it or not, there used to be a vehicle almost that small in the US, the King Midget. New microcars were denied street legal certification after crash standards were implemented.
You can definitely tell it's a British car by the lack of sun shading because I assume the sun rarely shines long enough for UV damage to be a thing. Personally as a Smart Fortwo owner? I love it! Cars should be as small as possible when they are being used as urban runabouts and it doesn't get much smaller than this!
I knew about the Peel P50, but this one was new to me. I WANT ONE!!!!!! I imagine rolling into a car show, attired in an excessively revealing snug silvery space overall, possibly with purple underwear outside of it, and by my side a girlfriend in a silver space bikini, big purple hair and green skin! How come I have NONE of these!!!??? xD Thanks for uploading! Greetings from Sweden
Wow looking good. And not talking about the car. Just re discovered your channel. Well done you. Cheers from old George and Jane. Ps I thought you might to try our Talbot Express Rambler GL Motorhome called Herb. However we sold it quicker than anticipated. Going to be collected from us sometime this week 😢. Cheers from old George and Jane Motorhome Adventures
Both cars have “direct” steering, which is the same as having handlebars, except that the handlebars appear as a round steering wheel. Also both cars a technically motorcycles, and as motorcycles go, they don’t have crumple zones.
I think I can do without the experience of one of these. What you need to test drive is a Lightburn Zeta. I nice trip to Oz will satisfy that urge. Made in a washing machine factory,, has 4 wheels and again a 2 stroke. 324cc. Came in sedan? ute and a Sports model with a big block 493cc engine. And switch it off a select reverse and 4 reverse gears. Wiki it!
With current technology it could be improved and would be an option for cities with up to 250,000 inhabitants. Better than having a pickup truck, with more than 160 hp, speedometer exceeds 240 km/hour but is only allowed up to 60 km/h
What strange little vehicles (I just can't bring myself to call them "cars"). I am 6ft 2in tall and I bet it would be hilarious to try getting into this thing or the P50.
