The Reliant Regal was a small three-wheeled car manufactured by the Reliant Motor Company in Tamworth, England. Being a three-wheeler, and lightweight, the vehicle could be driven on a motorcycle licence in the United Kingdom.
There were many forms of Reliant Regal from the Mk 1 in 1953 followed by the Mk II, Mk III, Mk IV, Mk V, Mk VI and the Regal 21/E, 3/25 and 3/30.
Sales levels were never high. The Regal 3/25 version was introduced in October 1962: on 25 April 1968, a year before BMC celebrated their 2,000,000th Mini, Reliant sales director T.H.Scott personally drove the 50,000th Regal 3/25 off the assembly line at Reliant's Tamworth plant.[1]
A few months later, in August 1968, it was reported that the 701 cc engine which had been introduced in the Reliant Rebel the previous Fall/Autumn had found its way into the Regal.[2] In the three wheeler application the compression ratio was lowered to 7.5:1 which will have reduced the power output - in this application to a claimed 29.5 bhp.[2] Nevertheless, this still represented a useful increase over the 26 bhp claimed for the 600 cc Regal which this version replaced.[2]
Reliant Regals and Robins enjoy something of a special place in British culture as symbols of British eccentricity. An example of a Reliant is the iconic van belonging to Del Boy and Rodney Trotter in the long-running BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses. The van is frequently, and incorrectly, referred to as a Robin, but is actually a Regal Supervan. The Trotters' original van is now on display in the "Cars of the Stars" motor museum, while one of two 'back-up' vans was sold in 2007 for over £44,000[1] to famous British boxer Ricky Hatton. In another TV comedy, Mr. Bean, the titular character frequently comes into conflict with a light blue Reliant Regal Supervan III, which gets tipped over, crashed into, or bumped out of its parking space. One of the vehicles used in the Mr. Bean series was destroyed after a stunt[2].
References
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Reliant Regal |
- Photographs and data on various Reliant Regal versions
- Reliant Regal Supervan III restoration project
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