The Reliant Robin is a small three-wheeled car produced by the Reliant Motor Company in Tamworth, England. It was offered in several versions (Mk1, Mk2 and Mk3) over a period of 30 years. It is the second-most popular fibreglass car in history, with Reliant being the second-biggest British car manufacturer for a time.
Despite its size, by being a three-wheeler with an official mass below 450 kg (992 lb), the Robin could traditionally be driven by holders of a B1 category driving licence in the United Kingdom, and registered and taxed at motorcycle rates, which gave a saving of £55 a year over a conventional car.
Reliant Robin is notoriously often prone to rolling over when either making sharp turns or cornering at high speed, with its handling being a joke on many TV shows (including Rowan Atkinson's Mr. Bean). Nevertheless, it also has excellent fuel economy, exceeding over 70 mpg.
Appearances[]
- In an old Top Gear episode, Tiff Needell demonstrates the Reliant Robin's common problem of rolling over. The solution is simply by going backwards for the newly refreshed Grinnall Scorpion III, which has two wheels on the front and one wheel at the rear for comparison.
- In another old Top Gear episode, Tony Mason tryout with Reliant Robin in dirt including some participants as well. In mid-laps the crash occurs later he rolls in final lap.
- He later shares the experience for 21 Years in 1999.
- In Series 9, Episode 4, Richard and James attempt to convert the Robin into a space shuttle. Despite the launch going well initially it soon fails after the Reliant shuttle and fuel tank fail to separate and spear out of control, slamming and exploding into the ground.
- In Series 9, Episode 5, during Jeremy's PSA about railway crossings, CCTV footage of a man hitting a train in a Reliant Robin is shown.
- In Series 15, Episode 1, Jeremy was tasked with driving 14 miles from Sheffield to Rotherham in a Reliant Robin, where he rolled the vehicle over at least six times, once doing a wheelie. Despite getting help from famous celebrities, such as the Human League frontman Philip Oakey and BBC Look North reporter Harry Gration, and even fitting stabilisers to the car, Jeremy's road trip ended with the Robin rolling into a canal and sinking.
- In Series 15, Episode 2, in response to a letter mocking Jeremy's driving skills in the previous episode, the Stig attempted to drive the Robin around the Top Gear test track and flipped the car on the first corner, as Jeremy predicted.
- In Series 15, Episode 3, Ken Block attempted to drive the Robin around the Top Gear test track to prove that he can drive it better than Jeremy, only to roll it over on the first corner like the Stig.
- In Series 1, Episode 2 of James May's Cars of the People, James discussed the Reliant Robin and how the car became a laughingstock to the point of being named the worst British car in history in 2005.
Trivia[]
- The Robin used by Jeremy Clarkson, the Stig and Ken Block had the differential modified to allow the car to roll over more easily. The car also had unequal sized wheels fitted creating an imbalance toward the driver's side.