Page 29 - April 2023

Apologies for t his brief Int erupt ion Manufactured by the Reliant Motor Company
based in Tamworth, England, the first Robin made
[Here it is necessary to reveal that my own father had a love
its appearance in 1973. Over a period of 30 years
affair for oddities, including microcars. As an example, we had
in production, the Robin went through three
an Isetta that he once hauled home and stashed in our garage
different models, MK1, MK2 and MK3. The Reliant
in the late '50s.
Robin, replaced the three wheeled Reliant Regal,
It was a strange affection. The same man that hated to see a which was the replacement for the three wheeled
postwar VW bug on California's new freeway system, sneeringly Regent. The Robin eventually earned the title for
referred to by him as a pregnant rollerskate, loved the 0-30 mph the second most popular fiber glass car in
in 13 seconds early version of the Isetta, which he first thought history-- that being the American Chevrolet
was s a Topolino Mouse. While it looked like an egg or a Corvette.
pumpkin depending on your artistic point of view it was
arguably less safe than the VW Bug was on an American freeway. Notwithstanding and economic turndown and a
war in the middle east that resulted in a
In California's motoring scheme in the years of heavy metal
worldwide gas shortage, the Robin got a boost in
dinosaurs, the Isetta was unsafe at any speed. My mother
horse power with a bump to 850 cc in 1975, an
refused to allow Dad to drive it anywhere, except around the
upgrade from its previous 33 bhp condition. This
horseshoe block where we lived, once he brought it home. It was
also meant that the Robin could now hit a top
banished to the garage where it didn't take up much room.
speed , if you were bold, of 85 mph, thanks to the
Dad's prize ( we never did find out where he got it) was one of weight of the car being about half of what a
the early examples imported to the US market. The German traditionally built small car of the period weighed.
microcar with the Italian heritage became a sort of automotive
play set for myself and my sister before, in the late 60s, he finally The Robin actually cost more than a Mini of the
found some other "enthusiast" to take it off his hands. same generation , a car that came with four
wheels and a road tax bill.
I believe he got $150 for it and considered himself lucky. In
1957, a new Isetta coupe cost $1,048 and came with a 3.4 gallon
fuel tank. The Beast, from our earlier article would not have
gotten far with this parsiminious level of fuel, but the Peel P50,
now that was a real gas saver, as we will see.

Today, a good example of this European run- about, with the
front that opened like a refrigerator, will sell for well over 35K,
but, before I return to the Reliant Robin, you can catch a bit
about the Isetta in a sidebar at the end of this story.

Morgan had already explored the three wheeler with the single
wheel in the back before the economic downturn made the
Brits decide to build the Robin only 20 years late to the Isetta
party, which also featured its third wheel in the back. The Robin
had the added benefit of being a tax dodge. As it only had three
wheels it was, ergo, exempt from the regular taxes paid by real
Above: An early version of the Reliant Robin,
cars being operated in country.
image Wikepedia by common license
A British auto journalist's praiseworthy review of the German
Isetta (that later added an extra wheel) should have
foreshadowed that the Reliant Robin was going to make an Story continues on page 30
appearance. That review is included in the sidebar.

The editor

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