𝐖𝐞𝐢𝐫𝐝 𝐂𝐚𝐫 𝐎𝐟 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐲: 1965 Peel Trident
If the original Mini made small cars cool, the 1965 Peel Trident made them absolutely bizarre. This tiny bubble of transportation, crowned with a clear plastic dome that flips up like a space pod, looks more suited for moon missions than main streets. Built by the Isle of Man-based Peel Engineering, this microcar makes a Smart car look like a stretch limousine.
The Trident, while technically designed for two people, realistically fits one driver who’s comfortable with very public displays of motoring. Its minuscule 49cc engine (later 98cc) could push this plastic fantastic to a breathtaking 38 mph, while achieving 100 mpg – though at that size, it might have been more efficient to just wear the car as a suit and walk.
As a successor to the even tinier P50 (the world’s smallest production car), the Trident proved that sometimes the best ideas come in small packages – or perhaps that the 1960s were truly a wild time for automotive design. With only a handful ever made, this rare microcar remains a delightfully weird testament to thinking small.
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