The Robin was a small, 3-wheel automobile built by Reliant Motor Co. in England. It was produced across three generations between 1973-02 with a break in between. The seller offers a nicely restored example but must be mistaken about the model year as the earliest one built was in 1973. Located in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, this fun but the awkwardly-shaped little car is available here on Facebook Marketplace for $9,500. Thanks for the unusual tip, Chuck Foster!
With an all-fiberglass body, the Robin initially used a 750-cc engine which was later upgraded to 850-cc. The single front wheel was for steering while the up-front engine drove the rear axle. The cars were both peppy and economic, capable of speeds up to 85 mph and fuel conservation north of 70 mph. The Reliant’s lone front wheel when paired with a higher center of gravity could cause the laws of physics to work against the auto when driven aggressively. But the cars aren’t known for tipping over in routine use.
The seller’s Robin must have been a European model as the car has a right-hand drive and wears a license plate from “over the pond”. Not a lot of background is provided about this little car, but it looks too pristine to be original. The body is straight, the deep red paint shiny, and the black interior (leather?) quite inviting. Whatever the case, with a manual transmission it’s said to run quite well but this is a machine better used for promotions or Cars & Coffee rather than any regular transport. For example, where would you find parts and someone to work on it if you used it a lot?
Every time I see these cars I smile and think of Jeremy Clarkson from Top Gear contantly rolling one of these over on its side. It was all in good fun.
Yep, still funny…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQh56geU0X8
OMG I needed that……LMFAO ! Thanks.
You realize don’t you, that the car was rigged so it would roll. You can’t trust anyone anymore.
https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/entertainment/news/a27897/jeremy-clarkson-admits-reliant-robin-rollovers-were-totally-rigged/
What in the world would you do with this thing? I guess you either get it, or you don’t! I don’t…
When I was in England, these were common. They are for navigating the narrow streets they typically have there, where you don’t drive fast and you need something nimble and very easy to park.. This car would definitely not be for American roads.
We have a 3 wheeled pit cart, sits on golf cart tires and wheels and goes 14 mph. It steers with a single up front wheel and handle bars and if you push it through a corner at top speed it will start to roll over. As stated, this car is great for putting around UK cities, so is our cart.
What’s not to like? they’re economical, parts availability is great and you’re unlikely to ever park next to another one in the states.
Plus you can’t get a weeks worth of shopping in the back of a corvette!!
Seller doesn’t say much about it, but this thing has been breathed on a bit. Note the Supertrap exhaust.
And a set of go-faster alloy wheels!
Noticed the Supertrap too. On the list of aftermarket and racing exhausts Supertrap is next to last, just above the Cherry Bomb glass pack, as the worst thing you can do to an exhaust system. Friend with a 4 cylinder race car bet me I was wrong to say he lost hp when he used a Supertrap to get the decibels down to legal numbers on the race track. Put his car on the dyno and the next race we were together at he handed me the bottle of scotch we’d bet on the results. lost 6 hp. BTW, Borla is on top of that list.
V registration is 1979/80, so one key out!
Ha ha. I saw this item and thought, “take a look at the comments, how long before someone mentions the spoof on Top Gear?” it didn’t take long.
the Reliant Robin stunt on Top Gear was staged, the car was loaded with ballast on one side to make it artificially unstable so it would tip.
Top Gear is a comedy, schoolboy level slapstick. can be very entertaining, but if you want to learn anything about cars, really got look elsewhere.
Simpson, eh? Homer test drives one at “Crazy Vaclav’s Place of Automobiles”,,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HPVQ4FpVlY
The 3-wheelers were also popular because due to a quirk of the British vehicle license/tax system, they were taxed similar to a motorcycle rather than a conventional car, and could also be driven on a motorcycle driving license. This made them a good choice for a typical young working man on a budget looking to upgrade from a motorcycle as their sole means of transport, maybe when looking to start a family.
So, while they may look a little comical to us today, they had their place and sold in fairly good numbers. and as Terry says, you have to remember that UK driving conditions were/are different, journeys tend to be shorter, roads are narrower, etc. A Reliant Robin would not be much fun for the wide open highways here in the US.
You are correct sir! My biker brother had one and he loaded it up with other drunk bikers to cruise around being drunk bikers. It was all fun and games until he hit a mini-roundabout hump with the front wheel. Whereupon it fell over and folded up like a cardboard box. All escaped unharmed…. still drunk.
If you want cheap transportation to get to work and back every day then this is a really great deal. Where are you going to find a car as nice as this for under 10K?
Aside from the oft-mentioned, staged Top Gear rollover bit, that crew also found another use for the Reliant Robin…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJdrlWR-yFM
I have a soft spot for funky, unusual little cars and would be very tempted to buy this thing if I happened to have an otherwise unneeded $9,500 burning a hole my pocket.
as noted, this is UK registered. V-registration suffix was between August 1979 and August 1980 – so this is most likely a 1980. Reliant only started making these in 1973 – so not a 1970 for sure. not splitting hairs too much with the author’s description, but this is right-hand drive and would be strictly a UK car rather than generally “European”, continental Europe obviously drives on the other side of the road.
This one does look to be in good condition, at least from what you see in the photos. The price seems a little high to me, simply because I’d imagine the market for this sort of oddball car in the US is pretty small niche? but who knows.
My guess is the import papers were somehow changed to show it’s a pre-1973 car, because starting in 1973 all cars in the USA had to have 5mph bumpers up front, and I doubt a Robin could ever manage to handle the test for the 5mph bumpers. Plus in 1973 cars had to have side door impact standards I know a Robin could not possibly meet because they have 100% fiberglass doors. And there are probably 30 to 50 other new federal specs that came in for 1973, including roll-over standards.
No one mentioned Mr Bean vs the Robin
All, these can be had for about 2000 pounds in the UK, the problem is the shipping. I purchased one in 2011 in Nottingham which I was going to drive to where I was stationed in Germany. Within 5 minutes of beginning my journey the side mirror fell off. I was driving the M25 towards London and the rain water was literally coming up through the floorboards before it finally broke down completely. They are nick named the plastic pig for a reason. Way overpriced for this vehicle. It is a great clown car, but not for a serious driver.
beat me to it – wuz gunna mention MR Bean;s as the best.
Gotta link? here’s 2nd best:
https://mrbean.fandom.com/wiki/Reliant_Regal
Just reverse the triangel for safety…
Be a excellent little car if you’re a Grub hub or uber eats delivery driver then your not beating your regular car to death
A fellow in New Jersey imported 10 or 15 of these in the 80s. He fix them up, painted them in crazy colors, and put signs on top of them to advertise stuff in New York City. His scheme didn’t work out so he sold the cars, and I bought one of them. Lots of fun for puttering around, but beware of potholes!!
Three wheelers are classified as motorcycles just the same as trikes. They are also registered as motorcycles in almost every state as well. They may look like an ultra small automobile but three tires hitting the pavement is like having that third eye!
I drove one of these in Scotland not recommend for driving on snow covered roads , the ‘normal’ four wheeled car make a nice pair or ruts to follow but the front wheel is on its own picking up every bump in the center of the lane. Just about shook my teeth out on the 35 mile commute , but is was very , very easy on the wallet. Ended up getting a company car so it had to go. But am sure it would be a conversion starter on trips to the grocery store
I would hope the body’s straight! it’s fiberglass! Pretty sure anything else would equal holes! Nice to see it wasn’t only the French building quirky cars!
Three wheelers are classified as motorcycles just the same as trikes. They are also registered as motorcycles in almost every state as well. They may look like an ultra small automobile but three tires hitting the pavement is like having that third eye!
It does have a nice interior, for that amount i would want 4 wheels on the ground.
There’s a 4-wheeled version called a Kitten. Very rare now, and were never common.
The secret to quick progress is getting the back moving rather than braking, if it’s possible. So I’m told…!
I have zero experience with these 3 wheel cars, so here is my very first question, FOR TODAY. HOW DO YOU CHANGE A FRONT FLAT TIRE?
Whether or not the Top Gear stunt was staged, I still think just because you CAN go 85 mph in a Reliant Robin doesn’t mean you SHOULD go 85 mph in a Reliant Robin.
The licence law was changed I think in the late 60’s early 70’s & you then needed a manual car licence ( previously reverse had to be un selectable to enable motorcycle only use) Mr beans nemesis was the model before a regal super van MK3 same as the trotters in only fools & horses.
actually this is not a Robin but in fact a Reliant Supervan in my recollection anyway !
“The seller’s Robin must have been a European model”
Were there non European models?
I had a yellow one for a few years here in RI . If you want to draw attention to yourself its a lot cheaper than a Lamborghini.
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Cute little guy. As a lover of unusual cars, I can appreciate this a whole lot. As far as going 85 mph, I think that would be suicidal. Having driven an Isetta back in the day, I would say, doing 60 would be tops.
The front fascia looks similar to a 1980 Ford Fiesta.
Does anyone watch The Lazy Car Dealer. He has a great episode with a race between two of these. One dressed up like a tortoise and the other like a hare.
I knew the chief engineer at Reliant Cars, and visited him in the mid 1980s. His name was Tim Bishop, and while giving me a tour of the Reliant engine factory [they made their own engines], Tim, in an effort to show me how well the alloy engine block was diecast in one piece, simply picked up the entire engine block with his hands, then tossed the block at me! I did catch that block, and was amazed how light it was! [Only 7 pounds in weight, for a 4 cylinder engine block!]
I’ve driven numerous Reliant Robins both in the UK and the USA. Considering what they represent, they are a great little car, very basic, but also very reliable and cheap to operate. I always wanted to get the van as seen in this car, to use around my restoration shop.
Looking at the photos more, I kept thinking this is much later, so I did some detective work and found I was correct. This version has the front grill and minor body changes associated with the 1977 to 1981 Mark 1 Robins & vans. You can see the changes at: reliant.website/robin_hist.shtml
To correct a point they were called robins in the 70,s by the 80,s on they were called rialtos and that 1 looks like its a 1979 as it stll has its english reg plate on the front the v at the end after the numbers denotes the year as august 79 to july 80 as in the uk the plate is registered to the car when new and stays with the car