Find out more about the Isle of Man motor museum:
https://www.isleofmanmotormuseum.com

Thank you Darren and Steve from the museum team - you are a brilliant duo!

Check out channel sponsor Bidding Classics to buy yourself a classic, or perhaps sell the one in your garage at home to free up the space for something new: http://bit.ly/BiddingClassicsIDriveAC...

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PEEL TRIDENT

Last week we looked at the Peel p50, this week we’re back with the Isle of Man motor museum borrowing the second three wheeled microcar put into production by Peel - the Peel Trident.

Another Cyril Cannell design, the Trident was on the face of it, a little more sociable. The new Trident was a two seater design made from 1965 to 1966.

Described as an occasional two seater, so perhaps not a permanent alternative to a motorbike and side car, the Trident was a new design but powered by the same engine as the Peel P50: the 49cc DKW engine giving 4.2hp.

It’s worth noting this is noted as being the world’s smallest two seater car and is 73 inches (185cm) long and 39 inches (99cm) wide. To give you an idea of the space around you, the seat inside for the two passengers is 31 inches wide, so if somebody hits this fibreglass shell, the odds probably aren’t in your favour.

There’s no in-built crash protection or even a vague crumple zone, so again, today’s test is not taking us out on the roads but rather a closed car park where the chances of us being wiped out by an SUV are limited.

Although it was only made for one year and less than 100 ever made, it’s somehow found its way into the Forza Horizon games, so it might be a familiar one to gamers watching out there!

You’ll see today that steering is a bit more normal on this one and it has a traditional steering wheel as you might expect on a normal car which then turns the two front wheels - which are coil sprung, undamped with a single wheel to the back.

We discussed the rise of microcars and three wheelers in the 60s last week in our P50 video, but in short, the petrol crisis and the taxation brackets for three wheelers putting them into the same lower tax bracket as motorcycles meant people were a little more openminded.

Microcars might seem daft little death traps today, but without cars like this testing out the limits, pushing the boundaries and exploring possibilities; I doubt we’d have anything like the Smartcars or the wonderfully wacky electric Ami.

Oh and if you’re wondering how you get in and out of this rather space age looking microcar, you have to lift from behind you and then push up. If I’m honest, the perspex was a lot heavier than it looked and I was quite concerned I was going to trap my fingers - so I had help from a third party each time I entered and exited the vehicle. Goodness knows how solo travellers managed!