The Peel P50 is a three-wheeled microcar manufactured in 1962 and 1965 by the Peel Engineering Company on the Isle of Man.
It retailed for £199 (about R400, which was a lot of money then!) when new. It is still considered the smallest-ever automobile to go into production.

Designed as a city car, it was advertised as capable of seating "one adult and a shopping bag".
The vehicle's only door was on its left and equipment included a single windscreen wiper and only one headlight.
Standard colours were Daytona White, Dragon Red and Dark Blue.

In 2010 production was restarted - an electric version with a top speed of 16 km/h. Production is located in an undisclosed location in northern England.

Only 50 will be made, priced at £12,499 (about R140 525 at the current exchange rate).
There is an order form on the vehicle’s website, but the price does not include shipping or local taxes.

SMALL WITH BIG APPEAL
Designed as a city car, the P50 comes equipped with a single windscreen wiper, one door on its left side and only one headlight.
The 1960s version was powered by a 49 cc two-stroke DKW petrol engine capable of propelling the P50 at up to 59 km/h, thanks to its 3-speed manual transmission.

Due to the lack of a reverse gear, turning in a confined area was achieved either by pushing or by lifting the car up by its handle mounted at the rear and manually rotating it.
The car is very economical and fuel consumption of 2.8 l/100 km has been claimed.
Peel Engineering ceased production of the P50 on the Isle of Man in 1964 with about 50 being produced. This includes a prototype version, the Peel P55 Saloon Scooter, which had a single wheel at the front and two at the back.

The Peel P50's most famous television appearance occurred in October 2007 when it featured on BBC Two's motoring show, Top Gear.

It involved presenter Jeremy Clarkson entering the car, then driving through central London to work.
Clarkson, who is 6 ft 5 in (196 cm) tall, demonstrated that it was possible, although difficult, for tall people to get into the car.
Upon arrival at the BBC, he drove past the car parks, between bollards to the front of the building, after which he pulled the P50 behind him to his office.
He then drove the P50 through the corridors of the building and used a standard passenger lift to get to a meeting, which he attended inside the P50. At the end of the meeting Clarkson drove out of the building and stated that, if the car had a reverse gear, it would be the "ultimate in personal mobility".

Statistics
At 1 372 mm long, 1 041 mm wide and an unladen weight of 59 kg, the P50 holds the record as the smallest car ever to go into production.

The Peel P50 was and is road legal in the UK in the "three-wheeler" category of less than 410 kg.

Sources: www.peelengineering.co.uk and http://en.wikipedia.org

ARTICLE BY ANICA KRÜGER