Peel Trident

The Peel Trident is the second three-wheeled microcar built by the Peel Engineering Company on the Isle of Man. An all-new design from its one-seat counterpart the Peel P50, the Trident has two seats.

History

The Trident was launched at the 1964 British Motorcycle Show held at Earls Court. The seat, stated as being wide, was intended to provide for use as an occasional two-seater.
A completely new design from the earlier side-engined Peel P50 microcar, the Trident was manufactured in 1965 and 1966.
In 2011, Peel Engineering Ltd. reinstated manufacture of the Peel Trident and P50, in Sutton-in-Ashfield, near Nottingham, England. All vehicles are hand-built to order in petrol and electric form.

Description and specifications

The glass-fibre shell was a monocoque with coil-sprung, undamped wheels. It featured a clear bubble top and either two seats or one seat with a detachable shopping basket.
The Lakeland Motor Museum observes that the Trident's bubble top constituted grounds for its sobriquet "The Terrestrial Flying Saucer." Like its predecessor, it was marketed as a "shopping car" or a "Saloon Scooter".
The car is long and wide, with a weight of . Like the P50, it uses a DKW engine which generates, and a top speed of. It was advertised that the Trident got, "almost cheaper than walking". The original retail price was £190.
All engines supplied to Peel from Zweirad Union were of the 49 cc 3-speed 4.2 hp 804–1600 type. Uniquely, however, the Peel engines had the 8th digit as a 4, thus being of the form 80416004***. This car is one of the smallest in the world.