Will we Tip Over the Mighty(ily Unstable) Reliant Robin? LMM Drives Ep.37 

I love how they're both excited when driving it and pants-shitting terrified as the passenger.

I remember once being on the M25 on the limiter in an artic and a Reliant Rialto came hurtling past as if I was stationary. That is some serious dedication!

I was once a passenger in a Regal van. The owner was a biker, and he drove the Reliant in the same way he rode his Norton. Utterly terrifying.

I really like the fact, that when mat wiggles it around at around 13:14 you can see the sky through the door seal at Lawrie's side

Awesomeness, I love my Robin.

Nice video. I am from the Netherlands . I drive dayly a Reliant three wheeler. Gifs people always a smile on the face.

Oh, I love how the whole vehicle bounces with Lawrie's excitement at the beginning. That's great!

Wooo the Reliant Robin!

My grandad had a robin and then a Rialto for years he never passed his car test and just kept driving one he was still driving it at 91 years old last year. He loved it did over 150,000 miles in his Rialto went all over the country

This was absolutely an extremely fun episode to watch.... the happy but terrified smiles on your faces was great....

that's the glorious thing about a Reliant, doesn't matter where you are or how much traffic you're accidentally holding up through lack of power or fear of going any faster, people forgive you and give you a smile or a wave because their day has just been made better by seeing it wobble charmingly around with a tiny, overworked engine sounding more like a rally car than a runabout

Lawrie is right, it is a smile machine for both him and the viewers.

My dad drove reliants for 30+ years and later went over to quads, the Rialto will do 90 mph with weight in the back - front scuffs are caused by cutting corners and turning in the road as you have nothing at the front corners - Chassis’s, late 70’s on the frames are a lot heavier I beam and box galvanised dipped, the death nail for reliant was emissions the R&D was non existent and the engine needed a total redesign but SPI may have saved them

Aha, at last, a review of a proper quality vehicle. Really nice example. Was considering asking you to review my one (1980 Van). They really are surprisingly fun vehicles to drive aren't they, not as bad as some people will have you believe. Really enjoyed the video. 👍

Ahhh I thought that was Mr Buch's car, stunning car.... trike! 😁

Back in the day, I was a passenger in the Robins predecessor (the Regal) when the driver hit a sharp corner a bit fast and rolled it on its side. We clambered out dusted ourselves off, then we pushed the car back on its wheels clambered back in and carried on like nothing happened. I bit of minor scuffing in the glass fibre was the only evidence anything happened.

Have a look at the prices for a good one now and it’s no laughing matter anymore 😧

My brother in law took me to a training school up the A1 in a Jubilee Robin. 90+ mph. It was a windy day and it shook, swerved and bounced all the way. He wasn’t phased but I was white knuckles all the way. I got the train back.

These are the absolute embodiment of fun at low speeds, every journey feels like an adventure! The corner scuffs; i did that to a Rialto i had by catching it on a high curb

I really like the camera on the bonnet looking into the cabin view, reminds me of some classic BBC sitcoms from back in the day!

I tipped a Reliant Supervan 3 which slid down the road on its side coming to rest on a grass verge, we climbed out tipped it back on its wheels and drove it home.

Many years ago I was nocked over by a Robin on a zebra crossing. The Robin was a write off. I bruised my arse!

I was in the back of a reliant supervan 3 going to a dog show from London to Leicester with 2 or 3dogs in the back, they shifted about an the front wheel lifted off the road......hairy stuff lol

The last time I was in a Robin it was 5 up and the boot was full of guns and ammo. Back when you were allowed to have fun.

Brilliant video . You do fall in love with them once you have driven one . Who cares about safety anyhow live life I say and that's why I own a robin lx

Great video, thanks. I had 2 of these an original Robin van back in the 70's and later a Rialto. Absolutely loved them. Travelled 100's of miles including motorway. Wiped the smile off many a posh car driver as I left them standing at traffic lights. But they were a car of their times and certainly not one to have a crash in.

Thanks for the video guys! Do I spot some issues with Matt's lav mic? I'm pretty sure Matt's half of the conversation (apart from the driving shots) is entirely recorded in voice over and synced to the video, so that must have been hell to edit...

There great little cars a real riot! My little Rebel is great fun!

Thats a beaut of a car.Extras two massive fog lights made me laugh.Always wanted to drive one.

I grew up with my father owning a Regal, looking at them now they’re surely a death trap. I’d so love to drive one and that particular vehicle looks great.

Don't tell anyone, but I'm a secret 3-wheel fan..... That is a nice example. I can see Laurie speculating soon lol. Maybe he could tow Jupiter with it.....

Three of us toured Ireland in my Regal 5. It had a roof rack!

Actually guys fibre glass is very very strong on impact ....i once had to turn sharply to my right to go up a hilly lane i misjudged it as id only just started driving the rialto ....i hit a small wall ...knocked a lot of the stones off ....just chipped the paint .... brilliant little car ....but if you go from a four wheeled car thats where the over exuberance causes problems they were after all made for bikers who wanted to be in out of the foul weather i loved mine ....but recently got the chance to try a friends robin ...i didnt fit in it as well 😂found the lack of padding on the seat horrible,but it still had the smile factor i remembered 😊

Great fun video and a car that seems very appropriate for this channel!!

I hope someone sells Lawrie a cheap one of those and I like how this can be interpreted as wishing something well or evil at the same time.

Reliant fitted a Scimitar engine in a Kitten at the factory in Tamworth the results were frightening. The bosses wouldn't let it leave the factory car park.

It's actually beautiful . How has that happened ?

I had a fit of the giggles whilst watching this groovy video of the Reliant Robin. The car suited Matt more than Lawrie, but here's to the next car review video.

I'd love to bring one of these to Canada, but I'd have to wear to wear a bike helmet because it only has 3 wheels. I'm glad to see you giving Lewis's channel a bit of publicity - he deserves more subs than he has. Thanks for another enjoyable video!

One of my neighbours had a Supervan. It looked like some of the local wildlife had tried to eat the bodywork! 😲 So, who's the first to ask for a trundle in Mr HubNut's Invacar? 🙂

O boy you finally got one and now for the tuk tuk

I had one reliant regal superman and 5 reliant robins, two of which were jubilee's, not bad considering they only made about 600 of these, Did loads of milage in them, sometimes at 90mph, used to love zipping past normal cars on the motorway. The only time I put one on it's side was when I had Judy my doberman in the back. A wonderful set of sweeping corners near where I Used to live. That were great on my Ducati 900. Unfortunately not so good in the robin, due to a moment of madness, it went straight on to the passenger side at about 60mph. and slid up the road for ages luckily staying down on the one side. Once we stopped moving with Judy going ballistic I carefully got out of the door which was above my head, made sure Judy didn't get out, I'm sure she would have done a runner given half the chance. Then pushed it back on it's wheels, talking a quick note of the damage. It fired up straight away, with a lot of smoke. The next morning, looking at it in daylight the front end had been taken out along with the headlight, but a lot of the door had been saved with the door handle which was grinded right down. That weekend went to the local scrapyard (remember them) and cut out the nearside front of an old robin that was there, along with some other bits I needed, I had it fixed apart from the paint, by the next week. And the bite marks in the dash and door I left as a sort of reminder.

I had a Rialto back in the early 1980's went straight from my Jawa 350 combo to the Reliant after I passed my bike test on the combo ....I loved it but my then husband didn't 😢so I had to sell and get a four wheel car ....after doing my test for a car ....one thing I will say is if you're a biker it's an easy transition from bike to Reliant then you get the extra road sense to pass a car test ...my mate bought a Robin a few months back and I tried to teach him to drive ...he almost had it but found he didn't like the cramped seating etc I do like your enthusiasm and enjoy watching your videos 😊

I've been subscribed to Lewi Buch Productions for ages and he has some wonderful cars, as you no doubt saw. It's the first time I have seen one of his cars driven on the road and filmed in your usual excellent way. He has a Reliant Kitten in the wings, now that would be fun.

There are a couple round here. Because it's only three wheels you don't need a full licence to drive it.

I had a reliant for four years with no problems me and my family went around wales though that time and the car coped really well and may I say cheap on fuel I would have another one like a shot

It seems that a lot of the vehicles which were panned by the know-it-all press were actually pretty good, and some were even FUN to drive.

my first drive my dads robin. loved it. in a gale force wind its scary but fun. i have been overtaken by one and i were doing 80 plus. ps i agree on the gear change brilliant. i want another one

My Regal 5 was hit in a side swipe. No dent or tearing, just some scratches.

so what have i learned about the robin, super fun to drive, scarier than a horror film to ride in

i bought the same car in the 90s for 75 quid and got 80mph downhill on the a55 with 4 people in it....sheer terror.... but i loved the car, only got rid of it because my kids had reached the age where they were embarased to get in it

I’ve see Reliant Robin races before. They’re insane and seriously fun.

In the 80s I had a manager who had a Rialto because she couldn't pass her car test. She bought it brand new and over 12 months we lifted it off the car park over a high kerb and onto a grassed area, wrapped it in bubble wrap and as a parting gift tipped it onto the rear door.

Vauxhall Arden Blue, if no one else has said it yet, lovely 90s Vauxhall colour

that reliant may be many things but it is more mended than 94.7% of the LMM fleet!🤣

Most Excellent! Thanks for sharing! I used to have a 1973 Regal 21E 750cc. I purchased it in 1982 for £25, but it had a huge hole in the side of the engine that a broken con rod had punched out. So I purchased a reconditioned engine and fitted it in. I used to cruise at 60 to 70 mph daily on the M27 (south coast of England) back and forth to work. Once on the way home on the slight downhill gradient of the M27 between Fareham and Hilsea I got up to 95 mph in the fast lane and overtook Triumph TR7's, Ford Granada''s and all kinds of cars. Good fun to do once 🤣😂🤣

As i biker im currently looking for one of these as my health is saying dont ride your hardtail chop anymore even though my head says let have a ride out somewhere nice. They have gone up in price now but i will endevour to get one. Love the video. These will do 90 M.P.H

Love to have a go in one myself, but there's only one over here in the states, and it's taken already. Thanks for this, Lawrie and the team, made me smile.

Hi lawrie would belive that once Reliant was the second biggest british owned car company behined british leyland . The robin are pefectly safe to drive if you drive them right .by not pulling sharply on steering wheel like jermey clarkeson did in top gear .i saw he was going to roll it by the he was holding the wheel . If you drive then right you can get to over 85 mph without to much problem i have done it with mine

I used to drive mine all year round you just drive carefully

The backrests are neat because when you get rearended it cracks your back right were the top of the seat is and so you don't suffer very long.

My great aunt's gardener/handyman used to have three Reliant Robins in various states of repair, which he used to pull a trailer with his lawn mower (and other stolen goods) around in. He stored them in her garden and sheds, and he also used to arrange for his mates to nick stuff off her, but somehow she could never see how evil he was. And, I'm fairly sure he didn't have a driving license, but I think you didn't need one for it? So, I have mixed memories of the "Peckham Flyer" (OK, so I know that was a Regal). They may still be moldering away somewhere in Iver Heath? Yours seems a very nice specimen though.

Matt narration over filler is excellent 👌 👏 👍

I had a Regal which I think was a better car in some ways. It seemed a bit more spacious in the front and it did have proper inside door handles. I did take it on the motorway and it felt fine. The speedo was probably quite optimistic but went up to 80 and you could get it against the stop and still accelerating! It would be interesting to drive one with satnav to know the genuine speed.

The scratches on Reliant Robins and regles was caused by high kerb stones taking the front wheel right up to the side of the pavement this made for easy parking until you got a high pavement I know this for a fact because I've owned a few of them in the 60s and 70s

Lawrie I bet you would enjoy the Bond Bug even more with its mad styling and bright orange colour scheme. Regarding the chassis on these I thought Reliant galvanised their chassis as Ian from HubNut said his Reliant Fox has a galvanised chassis?

My dad went 85 in our Rialto before. Checkmate!

I think all the scuffs on the front bottom panels are curb abrasions. The body is about at that height, and with one wheel in the center, it would be easy to do.

Lets see ya change the front wheel!🤔

I have a two front, one rear tadpole trike that I built 25 years ago from Citroen 2cv. More smiles per mile than any other car I have had. I am subscribed to your channel, mainly for steam.

Time for a roped off section of the 'workshop' for a collection of these beauties?....

I recommend getting some sort of polarized filter for filming through windscreens. Great video, I really like when the footage is edited in this more continuous style, and the windscreen parts were serviceable too, I just thought it could be improved.

Great video!

I have Driven Reliant Robins for over 30 Years and only once Did I neally tip it over and that only happen because I was a fool and tryed to do a Tight U Turn at 15 MPH but was still able to recover it , They very Stable you have to be driving like a fool will go around a Tight corner at 25 MPH without Tipping over a Vary relible Engine , Loads Room with the Back Seat down 4 Foot in length of Clear Space , but it is great car but getting harder to keep on the road now as the averige MOT Center can not test then now , or rather don't want too good video.

Working on your own car was the norm for cash strapped people back in the 50s, 60s and 70s when these cars (and the predecessor, the Reliant Regal) would not have been considered an horrific at all. Also, pretty well any small garage would maintain the things for you at a modest cost. Compared to modern cars, they were fairly easy to work on via those access panels as they are simple. Incidentally, the oft heard claim that the Trotter's drove a Reliant Robin van in Only Fools and Horse is wrong. What they drove was a Reliant Supervan based on the Regal. There vans based on the Robin too, but the Trotters never owned one.

I repaired far too many of them that had been rolled (either partially or properly) to think that there is anything good apart from the engine - which was used in so many of the club 750 race cars.....

There’s nowt wrong with the plastic rats . My Dad bought the super van in 74 the old N Reg . They were 750cc then the pushed them Upto 850 . I love these old cars . They are a fair price if you can find them nowhere days. You certainly brought the memories flooding back thanks guys I’m wanting one now the wife will kill me but at least I’d get peace .

My Dad loved these little cars. He did suffer the detachable steering box which meant he then drove a Regal Supervan straight into a lamp post in Dunfermline. Unfortunately, the council just came down and brushed the fibreglass away. It then started a saga over ownership of said lamp post which almost caused the divorce of my parents. The 2 Robins he had afterwards he happily used for family cars. He never tipped it.

The emergency service called these " Stretcher Cars" in an accident the door came off and you could use it as a stretcher.

I miss my MK1 robin. It cost 750 back in 2017. Won't be able to get anything like that these days for that money

no reliant or bubblecar in fact ever had "no reverse gear", the government and local councils argued over if it was legal to drive a 3 wheeled car on a motorcycle licence, with some councils allowing it and some fining drivers....eventually in 1964 the government put "tricycle" into law which is now a "motor tricycle" which basically means a 3 wheeled car (not a trike, thats a 3 wheeled bike) so after 1964 all 3 wheelers could legally use reverse, because they still had them just had a tiny blanking plate which 99% of owners threw them out of the window when leaving the dealers because no one has time to push their car out of a space, you've got to remember too this argument in the law had been going on since the 1950s

Beautiful this car 👌💯 Was a economic and progressive construction ❗👍

Robin is also more stable with a passenger (or toolbox on that sidet).

Quite strange that the older ones didn’t have rear seatbelts. My one does

Reliant 3 wheelers always had reverse gear they just blanked it off until 1964 also those cars were reliant regals not robin the robin always had reverse gear throughout its production

i remember my dad had a peugeot 308 that washed the windscreen of the car behind it

Personally I prefer the Morgan's layout for 3 wheelers, having the two front wheels for steerage just overall seems more stable since they'll be arresting the intertia in a turn, and having only a single drive wheel simplifies the drive train by eliminating the need for a differential. So in theory the Morgan's layout could be cheaper while still being more stable, of course Morgan's being hand crafted are quite the opposite, but in concept.

Beautifully filmed, thanks. I'm curious as to what part of Scotland (roughly) this is.

I was a passenger in one at 60mph and its the only car I've been in the was affected by the grooves heavy lorries wear into the road......scary!! I've driven E Types (a hero car of mine) which I wish I'd never met, for me they are a disappointment to drive, quick? yes but also a lumbering barge IMO.

..and I miss my old Mini which finally rusted out on me a few years ago...

Did I make it here first? Hmmm... Somehow, I thought it would feel different....

There must be a 3 cylinder engine that will fit. Toyota 1kr-fe.... Triumph Rocket...

Try driving hubnuts tuc (invalid carriage)

You need to ram a lime green Mini with a black hood into it to be able to tip it over without faking. It’s literally the only way.

You can still drive these on a motorcycle licence, I bought one for this reason. You just can't drive them as a learner biker like you used to be able to, you now HAVE to be 21 and have an unrestricted bike licence or a car licence.

As far as I can tell it was emissions that caused the end of production. The was no r+d money for a new engine. Makes me wonder if anyone has added a modern engine to one. Not that you would want more power.

I want one or a Bond Bug...

Thank heavens they didn’t come to Australia,although they would have been ideal on the Nullarbor plain.2000 miles in a straight line.

Lawrie driving Matt was terrified and vice versus

Greetings from California. I'm a cyclist who prefers to ride trikes, but the difference between a Delta trike and a Tadpole is amazing. Delta are for little ol' lady's pretending to get exercise. Delta's have single wheel in front, and only one rear wheel powered. They have a reputation for instability at speed, if you can get anything like speed in them. Good for a trip to the grocer. I must assume that car has both rear wheels powered. The tadpole with single rear wheel powered and the front wheels fully braked can be a speed demon. A British manufacturer made the best tadpole trikes and I loved mine until it was stolen. Not very good for cargo though. Windcheetah was the brand name. noy sure if they are still in business. The tadpole would make an interesting motor car design.