Tiny Cars With Lots Of A-Peel: The P50 and Trident Story

"Jonee" (Jonee) 11/03/2014 at 14:09 • Filed to: Peel, P50, Trident, Isle of Man, microcars

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We're all familiar with the wonderful Peel P50, the smallest production car ever made. But, what's the deal with Peel? Turns out, it's an interesting story. The teeny microcar wasn't the first automobile with a Peel badge, nor would it be the last. And, despite being one of the slowest motor vehicles ever, Peel's name is actually most closely associated with some of the planet's fastest vehicles.

Peel Engineering was started by Cyril Cannell on the Isle of Man after the Second World War. Cyril spent the war in the Royal Air Force assembling planes, first Hawker Hurricanes aboard the carrier Ark Royal, and then Wellington Bombers at RAF Bomber Command. By the end of the war, he was in Rhodesia on the African continent longing for home and a simpler life. So, he retreated to the harbor town of Peel, on the little island situated between England and Ireland where he formed his company as a boat repairing business.

Business was good on the island and Cyril looked to expand. Fiberglass was becoming more and more popular for marine equipment, and in the early 50's Cyril traveled to America to learn more about the stuff. There he saw for the first time its use in automobile bodies. Back home he made molds for fiberglass boat hulls and converted his little factory to make glass reinforced plastic. Cyril was a talented engineer, his skills honed in the RAF. Peel boats were well made and one of the first constructed of GRP. They became quite popular and attracted the attention of the Isle of Man's most famous temporary residents. Motorcycles invaded the island once a year for everyone's favorite insane bike race, the Isle of Man TT. The race is famous for its spectacular crashes and in 1952, an Australian rider came to Peel to repair a damaged fairing. It must have worked pretty well because soon everyone wanted a Peel fairing. Within 2 years, Peel had a full production line making Dolphin and Dustbin fairings for most major motorcycle brands.

Some of the fastest and most successful racing bikes had their greatest success wrapped in Peel fiberglass. This first foray into the world of terrestrial vehicles got Cyril thinking back to his trip to America.

In the early 50's, most British cars were produced for export and there was something of an automobile shortage on the islands. One solution to this was kit cars which could be assembled on the chassis of old cars with rusted out bodies. Since fiberglass was perfect for this, it wasn't long before one kit car company approached Peel. Oddly, though, the company that did come calling in 1953, Campbell, was in Canada. They wanted to sell a kit for a small fiberglass sports car that could be put on a Buckler tubular chassis, or any other chassis with a 90 inch wheelbase. It would be powered by a Ford 8/10 industrial, or Morris 8 engine.

The body was one piece and rather crude looking. Cyril claimed they sold around 500 of them, but I can't find any contemporary photos of one, so that may be baloney. It does look like there were at least 2 different prototypes.

Cyril also claimed Ford approached him to produce a car for them directly, but he turned them down because he wanted to stay independent. Cyril did use the Campbell experience to build a much prettier and more advanced kit car he called the P1000. It had about the same dimensions, but was made in 3 sections plus doors and was much more sophisticated than the Campbell. 3 survive and it's possible 100 were sold.

Strangely, one is on an MGA chassis even though that car has a 94 inch wheelbase. It also looks like one may have had a hardtop. Cyril wanted to grow Peel's car production, but the local government denied his request for help funding an expansion of the factory. So, Cyril set about designing a minimal motorcar. The Manxcar, debuting in 1955, was a three wheeled microcar with some rather clever design features.

It had a light, tubular T-chassis with a single rear wheel driven by a British 325cc Anzani engine. It was fiberglass, of course, and mostly simple, flat panels. The doors were hinged on one corner so they could be slid open while remaining flush with the body. It was also a hatchback, probably the world's first on a sub-compact. It was a little awkward looking, but clever and may have been something of a success.

It would have beaten the also fiberglass !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! to the market and was more practical than most other micros. However, Peel had some sort of problem with the UK Customs and Excise office that would have affected the taxes on the car, so only the one prototype was built and the project abandoned. That one car was sold and registered, funny enough, and was apparently used on the Isle of Man for several years. Its current whereabouts are unknown, unfortunately.

So, Peel went back to building boats, fairings, and various other fiberglass products until 1962 when Cyril decided he wanted to see just how small you could make a car. And, that was pretty much the whole motivation for the P50. Cyril designed the car with Henry Kissack, the head products designer at Peel. They did it as a design study and brought it to the 1962 Earl's Court Motorcycle Show as something interesting to display alongside their fairings.

The car had no engine or drivetrain and was actually even smaller than the later production car. It had a single front wheel and was just big enough for a slightly smaller than average person to squeeze in. It got plenty of attention as you'd expect. Mostly people thought it was hilarious, but the interest got Cyril thinking it could be viable. The prototype proved to be unstable, so Cyril and Henry redesigned it. They put the single wheel in back and enlarged the body a little so you didn't need to go into a yoga pose to drive it.

It rode on cart tires mounted to the simplest of chassis. A 4.5 horsepower 50cc DKW engine and 3 speed transmission drove the rear wheel by chain. It did have rack and pinion steering, coil spring suspension, and brakes on all the wheels. Reverse gear was either your foot or getting out and spinning the thing around by the rear mounted handle.

There were no gauges whatsoever since it never got going fast enough to where knowing precisely how slow you were moving mattered. It was priced at £195 and was advertised as "almost cheaper than walking." It's estimated it got 90 m.p.g. so they were probably right. It came in red, white or blue and, depending on who you talk to, between 50 and 70 were built and sold. I have a hard time believing any were bought as someone's mode of transportation. You really can only fit your body inside it. Forget your groceries. Even your briefcase would take up too much space. To make matters worse, most of the motor is in the cabin with you making a deafening racket. Its wheelbase is so short and its tires so small that driving on anything other than the smoothest of tarmac is a nightmare. It also had no seat cushioning. Just some padded vinyl suspended in a frame.

The microcar craze was long over, but the Peel was unique and created a buzz wherever it went. The 60's were swinging and the tiny P50 was a hip novelty. Peel promoted the car fairly heavily. One publicity stunt had Cyril taking a P50 to the top of Blackpool Tower. It rode up in the elevator and drove around the observation balcony. A year after its introduction, Peel came up with a way out sequel. Cyril wanted to try putting a 2 seater on the P50's frame so you could bring a (close) friend or package with you. He and Kissack, most likely inspired by the Jestons, designed the Trident, a space age fiberglass and acrylic alien pod.

As cool as it was, it seemed even less practical than the P50. The body opened up like a clam which makes getting in and out difficult and awkward especially when it came to closing the top after one managed to slide into the molded and slightly padded seats. You could now haul a small package, but a second human being would put a lot of strain on those four and a half horses. You could now say it was "almost faster than walking." Not to mention that it got quite steamy under that clear dome.

45 Tridents were built. In an effort to boost sales, 3 or 4 got 98cc Triumph scooter motors and one was even exported to North America. As a last gasp an electric motor was offered in 1966 with a range of 65 kilometers. One of these was sold and "mass" production of automobiles on the Isle of Man ended.

But, the Peel factory would pump out a few more cars. One was the Viking, a neat, but oddly proportioned sportscar kit body for Mini chassis. It looks Saab Sonnet inspired and was well received when presented at the TT race in 1967, but only about 40 kits were produced and sold.

In 1968, Peel entered into a contract with BMC to make fiberglass Mini bodies for export to South America. Several well done prototypes were made, but the project proved unfeasible. However, the Peel body molds were apparently sent to Paraguay and might have been used to make Minis in that country.

( Update: It might have actually been Chile who got the Peel Mini molds as the Lane Motor Museum has a pair of fiberglass Peel Minis from that country.)

In 1969, a welder at the Peel factory named Ernie Leece built this yellow P50-esque 2 seat microcar prototype out of steel and fiberglass, but it was never really considered for production. This was the last automobile built at the Peel factory.

They did continue quite successfully with fairings and boats until the mid 70's when the company's employees bought the business and changed the name. Today, the P50 is maybe the most famous microcar in the world next to the Isetta and replicas far outnumber the original cars. About 25-30 original P50's and 20ish Tridents survive. Peel never really made any money on their cars, but they did bring the company plenty of publicity and that was probably the point. Today you can buy a brand new Peel for $20,000 thanks to the show Dragon's Den . Or, you can contact !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! who has been making accurate replica Peel kits since the 80's for half that price. Cyril Cannell died in 2008 and got to see a whole new generation fall in love with his tiny car. Despite the Dragon's Den guys and their Peel cars, the name Peel Engineering was acquired by Ernie Leece and their "headquarters" are now back in Peel on the Isle of Man where they belong.

P50 interior and Viking photos are from the fabulous Lane Motor Museum in Nashville, Tenn.

Hahayoustupidludditeshutupandgohandcrankyourmodeltalready > Jonee 11/03/2014 at 14:56

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Well written, informative article.

Jonee > Hahayoustupidludditeshutupandgohandcrankyourmodeltalready 11/03/2014 at 15:04

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Thanks. Glad you enjoyed it. If you're interested in microcars, I've collected my other histories here:

http://weird-wheels.kinja.com/

Hahayoustupidludditeshutupandgohandcrankyourmodeltalready > Jonee 11/03/2014 at 16:32

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Aaand there goes every bit of spare time I have today and tomorrow :)

Jobjoris > Jonee 11/04/2014 at 03:11

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Reverse gear was either your foot or getting out and spinning the thing around by the rear mounted handle.

That rear mounted handle was also extremely useful for taking it to the office.

I never heard of the Peel untill that amazing Top Gear appearance. It's so incredibly tiny.

Awesome write-up again Jonathan, thanks!!

Jonee > Jobjoris 11/04/2014 at 03:20

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Thanks, Joep. I wonder if Clarkson was inspired by that publicity photo at the bottom there.

Jobjoris > Jonee 11/04/2014 at 03:24

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Haha, that picture is epic! Come to think of it: I'm looking for new furniture and now I think I know what I'll be looking for.

Mustang 'DontHitTheCrowd' GT > Jonee 11/07/2014 at 19:22

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That "1" Peel Trident, or possibly another that made it to the US, is right up front at the Ripley's Believe It Or Not interactive museum in NYC. True story.

Mary, Mary, Knotty Pine > Jonee 11/07/2014 at 19:35

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Bookmarked. Thanks for a great article.

Built BMW Tough > Jonee 11/07/2014 at 19:53

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Look what I found today!

jjjblucheez > Jonee 11/07/2014 at 21:47

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I'm reading ALL of those.

Renault R8 Gordini from 1966 > Jonee 11/07/2014 at 21:47

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we need Peel back #Peel2015

Jonee > Renault R8 Gordini from 1966 11/07/2014 at 22:05

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The real Peel. I agree. If we all drove one, it would literally solve all our problems.

Renault R8 Gordini from 1966 > Jonee 11/07/2014 at 22:07

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no doors, just garages, and just make buildings car friendly, like in wall-e

Jonee > jjjblucheez 11/07/2014 at 22:07

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Enjoy. Microcar trivia will make you the coolest cat at the party.

Jonee > Renault R8 Gordini from 1966 11/07/2014 at 22:15

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Ha. It would (d)evolve into Wall-E.

jjjblucheez > Jonee 11/07/2014 at 22:36

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*coolness intensifies*

Also that tiny bugatti looks like the car from monopoly.

Jonee > jjjblucheez 11/07/2014 at 23:07

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Weighs about the same, too.

Bad72AMX > Mustang 'DontHitTheCrowd' GT 11/08/2014 at 00:47

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There is also one of each at the Ripleys in Ocean City, MD. Either that or they moved them, I haven't been to OC in about 3 years.

MuricaRules > Jonee 11/08/2014 at 03:12

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Jonee - great article. These super microcars certainly have a lot to apeel. (sic)

#chipchippersen #knockeditoutathapark

DavidLMM > Jonee 11/08/2014 at 09:56

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Excellent article. Several of the photos are from Lane Motor Museum in Nashville. (the P-50 interior and the Viking)

We have a P-50 and Trident on display virtually all the time - they are very popular, as you might imagine. We also have (but rarely display) a Peel M/C fairing, a Viking, and a pair of the Chilean-built Minis as mentioned above.

The P-50, although smaller, has far more room inside for a 6-footer. While not comfortable, it's not too bad for a short drive. At least it has ventilation!

THURBUS > Renault R8 Gordini from 1966 11/08/2014 at 11:16

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http://www.peelengineering.com/peel-store/buy…

Jonee > DavidLMM 11/08/2014 at 12:16

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Are you from the Lane Museum? I've seen the Lane P50, but didn't realize they also had a Viking. I've actually never gotten there, but I've met Jeff at a couple microcar shows. So, the South American Minis were Chilean, not Paraguayan? I couldn't find much info about the BMC deal. I've sat in a Trident. You're right, it's a pretty tight squeeze. It was Charles Gould's car, if you're familiar with him, and it has a nice big hole drilled out of the dome to help you breathe in there.

Renault R8 Gordini from 1966 > THURBUS 11/08/2014 at 13:14

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I BOUGHT ONE!

B.Peasant > Jonee 11/08/2014 at 14:26

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There's a P50 on display at the small but nice Manx Transport Heritage Museum in Peel IOM.

It's deliciously ironic that these vehicles were made in a place that famously has no speed limits.

DavidLMM > Jonee 11/08/2014 at 17:00

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Yes, I'm the GM. As far as I know, they were Chilean, but have not seen anything paperwork-wise to confirm that. Charles is a good friend of our director's, he's made it several of the shows up in Boston. And drilling a hole in a Trident? Hope if was one of Andy's replica domes! I have seen a Trident on the Monterey Historic Races show several years ago that someone had turned into a convertible, with folding dome-shaped top. If you ever find yourself in Nashville....

Jonee > DavidLMM 11/08/2014 at 17:13

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I may have confused Paraguay with Chile. I'm also working on a Rovin article and they were sent to Paraguay, so could be I mixed up my South American countries. I'll have to look at my research again. Charles's Trident is (I think he still has it) an original one and the hole was drilled long ago by a suffering owner who I guess used it.

I do have to make the trek to Nashville. That's my kind of museum you got there. How many Bruce Weiner cars did you guys end up with?

TheStigsGermanCousin > Jonee 11/09/2014 at 00:59

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This thing is awesome.

valvashon > Mustang 'DontHitTheCrowd' GT 11/09/2014 at 19:19

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I've actually driven a "Ripley's" Trident inside of the Pacific Science Center here in Seattle. One of the perks of working in morning TV, I drove it for about 50 feet on the Ripley's traveling display exhibit. It's the electric model so there were no problems driving it indoors. I'm 6'1" and fit inside well enough but it is incredibly tiny. Plus, it's incredibly slow. I'm currently working at the Seattle Seahawks game and just saw one of the stadium carts zoom past the satellite truck I'm sitting in. Twice as big and twice as fast and it's still just a golf cart. It's truly amazing that these Tridents were sold as an actual vehicle for road use.

valvashon > valvashon 11/09/2014 at 19:20

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From the front:

THURBUS > Renault R8 Gordini from 1966 11/11/2014 at 18:56

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No way! If true, tell me more!

Renault R8 Gordini from 1966 > THURBUS 11/12/2014 at 12:21

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I bought a red one, it's on it's way right now, I'm SO EXCITED!

THURBUS > Renault R8 Gordini from 1966 11/15/2014 at 19:28

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No fuggin' way! Post when you get it! Pics and video and whatever you can! That is amazing!

Renault R8 Gordini from 1966 > THURBUS 11/15/2014 at 20:01

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OK!

chas > Jonee 10/17/2018 at 18:40

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Hi Jon,

I still have my Trident, but there was never a hole drilled out of the dome to help you breath!  It is 100% original, with no breathing hole, and it steams up pretty good. You must be remembering another Trident owners car.

Jonee > chas 10/17/2018 at 19:44

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Hi Chuck! Yeah, I guess I was thinking of another Trident. I wonder whose that was.