The world of microcars is much broader than we can imagine. After World War II, a series of reduced-size cars appeared designed to ensure mobility in difficult times. The Italian Isetta, the French Biscuter (creation of the great Voisin) or the German Gogomobil are part of the landscape of Spain in the 1950s. But there are many more models that are already they are only remembered by amateurs or specialists like the Spanish PTV, Clua, or David; the French Rovin or Mochet; the Germans Messerschmitt, Heinkel, Weidner and Zundapp; the Italian Vespa 400 or Siata Mitzi; or the English Bond Minicar, Scootacar … and the Peel.
Founded by Cyril Cannell in the late 1940s, the Peel Engineering Company (an Isle of Man company), originally supplied glass-reinforced plastic parts to the marine and automotive industries. But at the beginning of the 1960s they decided to go one step further and so, at the 1962 Earls Court Motorcycle Show in London, they presented a very small car named Peel 50, which was on sale for 199 pounds. The manufacturer advertised that the Peel could carry “an adult and a shopping bag” and was “almost cheaper than walking.” If we take into account their low consumption, they did not exaggerate much…, but one does not quite understand where one could put the shopping bag.
With a fiber body (single door, on the left side) it used a 48 cc two-stroke DKW engine that transmitted its 4.5 hp to the single rear wheel. The gearbox was a three-speed, and no reverse gear: the driver had to lift his P50 from the back (using a handle) and then turn it in the desired direction: it actually handled better than some “easily removable” minivan seats .
As for the speed, it reached 61 km/h, a promise of strong emotions if we think of its size… Indeed, because the most striking thing was its small dimensions: only 1.34 m long. Next to it, a Smart Fortwo, from the first generation (2.50m long), would almost look like a limousine, and not even a 2.28m BMW Isetta could compete. Jeremy Clarkson, the famous journalist presenter of the program “Top Gear”, did not hesitate a few years ago to go with a 1963 P50, through the streets of London to the BBC television center and, after taking the car up in the elevator , lead him inside the newsroom to his work table.
The Peel Trident was already a larger version and for two seats
There was one prototype, the Peel P55 Saloon Scooter, which unlike the production Peel P50 (along with all developments and replicas of it), used a single wheel architecture at the front and two at the rear. But the principle of two wheels in front and one behind was chosen, considering that it was a better solution in terms of stability.
The Trident
The one that did also go into production was the two-seat Peel Trident, with a bubble-type Plexiglas cabin, which was raised to comfortably enter or exit the car. Built between 1964 and 1965, it outsold the P50. The Trident was said to be “very popular with courting couples,” perhaps because its small cabin meant the driver and his passenger knew each other intimately.
But let’s go back to our single-seater, the P50. The characteristics and performance of the model limit its use a priori. Obviously, the Peel 50 is suitable for commuting around the city, but not for long trips. However, Alex Orchin (you know that the British have always been into this record thing) has covered no less than 1,400 km in 2021, from Scotland to the south of England. In the car, the driver had at his disposal a bottle of water and a GPS. However, the Peel 50 was followed by a motorhome throughout the journey, which served as a mobile hotel room for its driver…
The Peel P50 was and still is road legal in the UK, where it was homologated under the ‘three-wheeler’ category. In other countries they were sometimes classified as a moped (eg the P50 that went to Finland).
and auctions
Less than fifty original P50s were made between 1964 and 1965 (it is said that there are only twenty-seven of them left in the world) and about eighty Tridents (other sources say 45 units), with production ceasing in 1966. And Peel Engineering closed in 1974.
Its reduced dimensions and only 59 kilos of weight, the Peel 50 is the smallest motorized car in the world
The rarity and scarcity of the unit translates into high prices in the world of classics. So it’s no wonder that on February 15, 2013, at the Bruce Weiner RM auction, a 1964 Peel P50 (registration number ARX 37B) fetched over $120,000.
And not long ago a copy of the P50 was sold on the Car & Classic online platform, for the exceptional sum of 111,000 pounds, that is, the exchange would be a little more than 132,000 euros, thus establishing, according to the English press, the second higher quantity up for auction for this model but keep in mind that this P50 unit in question has a particularly remarkable pedigree, as it would be a pre-production example, displaying unique hallmarks that no other P50 can boast, including a colored steering wheel cream and that still does not incorporate the rear bar.
A single door on the left side and a single seat
Do these numbers seem high to you? Well, more than one hundred and seventy thousand euros have been paid for a P50. However, its consumption around 2.8 liters per hundred kilometers, “compensate” its owner for any sacrifice. And when you go to a gas station, you can say “fill up” without your voice shaking because with only ten euros you can fill your tank of less than five litres.
Renaissance
Today, the Peel 50 are collector’s cars, in some cases unattainable, as we can see. But as many of his supporters dreamed and cried out for his rebirth, there were those who listened to them. And so the company Peel Engineering Ltd (not to be confused with the Peel Engineering Company of the Isle of Man in the sixties) was born, which was launched in 2010, to study this project of the new Peel. Today, the small car is produced to order in various versions with prices starting at around twelve thousand euros. It’s been redesigned from the principles of modern engineering, while staying true to the original concept: ’60s style with modern dependability…and reverse. The engine is now a four-stroke single-cylinder petrol, approved for the category of three-wheeled vehicles, which has a consumption of only 1.35 liters per 100 km, and reaches a maximum speed of 45 km/h. There is also an electric version. As for the rest, hundreds of original P50 parts and components have been painstakingly reproduced. It can also be purchased as a kit to assemble.
A convertible version specially ordered as a gift for a Middle Eastern king, has given rise to the P.50 “Cabrio”. Faced with various requests, the company has decided to produce a series limited to 50 units, each in its own color. Very small, very exclusive, another dimension.