The History of Reliant The History Of Reliant This article is about the car manufacturer. For Chrysler's "K car", see Plymouth Reliant. Reliant was a British car manufacturer. The company was traditionally based at Tamworth in Staffordshire, England, but in 2001 it moved to nearby Cannock. It ceased manufacturing cars shortly afterwards. Reliant was founded in 1935 by T L Williams to take over the manufacture of the Raleigh three-wheeler delivery van. Williams had designed this in 1933 and Raleigh no longer wished to produce it. It was powered by a 750 cc V-twin engine driving the rear wheels through a 3-speed gearbox and shaft drive. In 1939 the engine was replaced by Reliant's version of the straight-four cylinder 747 cc Austin 7 side-valve engine. In 1952 a four-seat car version was launched, and in 1956 the bodywork was changed to glass fibre.

The company is notable for building composite-bodied specialist vehicles, such as the sports cars Reliant Scimitar (including the unusual sports estate Scimitar GTE) and Reliant Sabre; and the infamous three-wheeled Reliant Regal, Reliant Robin and Reliant Rialto economy cars. After absorbing Bond Cars, which had also been a maker of three-wheeler cars – though in their case with more stable rear engines – Reliant used the Bond name for the iconic 1970s Bond Bug, a sporty three-wheeler designed by the Ogle designer Tom Karen. Reliant also built four-wheeled version of the Regal and Robin, called the Reliant Rebel and Reliant Kitten respectively. Between 1983 and 1990 a utility/pickup vehicle called the Reliant Fox was produced. This was based on an original development by the Greek company MEBEA on Reliant mechanicals and was jointly developed for production by MEBEA and Reliant; it had originally been built in Greece by MEBEA between 1979 and 1983.

Reliant also made a small three-wheeled commercial vehicle called the Reliant TW9, later sold by other companies as the Ant, which was basically a chassis and cab, onto which a custom rear body was fitted and used by public utility companies. Most of these quirky and distinctly British small cars used Europe's first mass-produced lightweight overhead valve aluminium alloy engine, initially 598 cc, but enlarged through the years to a final 848 cc in 1975. Early Reliant three-wheelers used an engine derived from the 747cc 1930s Austin Austin 7. Reliant's own aluminium alloy engine is also used as the replacement for the Austin Seven engine by the 750 Motor Club in their Formula 750 motor sport. Reliant's expertise in the area of composite car body production has also seen the company produce lightweight body shells for Ford RS200 rally cars and a glass fibre-bodied taxi, the MetroCab — the first to have full wheelchair provision, manufactured by a division of Kamkorp.

Reliant has provided designs to several other manufacturers, including Autocars in Israel and Otosan in Turkey in the 1960s, and MEBEA in Greece and Sipani in India in the 1970s. In 2001, production rights for the Reliant Robin were sold to a Sudbury-based firm called B&N Plastics, but production ceased in 2002. Reliant concentrated on importing "speciality" vehicles from European manufacturers, including Piaggio, Bultaco and Ligier. The firm also had plans to import the Indian San Storm sports car, but this plan never came to fruition. Regal 1951-1972 Reliant car insurance - Compare Reliant quotes - Confused.com Get Reliant car insurance online The Reliant car company was set up in the 1930’s on the belief that the days of lightweight three-wheelers were far from over. The company went on to produce the first Reliant which enjoyed some additional success because it was originally exempt from the equivalent of today’s Vehicle Excise Duty.

The company went on to build a variety of cars, from economy-based three-wheelers like the Regal or Rialto, to the sportier Scimitar and Sabre. These cars may look very different to more modern cars, but insurance companies will calculate insurance premiums based on a range of factors, which includes value, power and potential repair cost. With many Reliants now considered classic cars, you may be able to get tailored cover or reduced premiums with a classic car insurance policy Replacement Reliant parts may be difficult and expensive to find, which could push insurance premiums up On the plus side, all pre-1973 cars are exempt from road tax, which could save you money if yours was built before then To start comparing policies and quotes for your Reliant, click the ‘GET A CAR QUOTE’ button above. We search for policies and prices tailored to you from our panel of insurance providers, to get our best deals to you in minutes. Production ceased - 2002 Headquarters - Tamworth, England Famous for producing the three-wheeled Robin, Reliant was a British car manufacturer that ceased production in 2002.

Although no longer in production the Reliant Robin can still be seen on the roads of the UK and enjoys a strong cult following. Other models produced by the company include the Kitten, Regal, Scimitar, Rebel, Rialto, Sabre and Super. Reliant's best known model is probably their Regal Supervan, made famous by its part in the hit TV show ‘Only Fools and Horses’, though in season 7 of ‘Top Gear’, the Reliant Robin was converted into a space shuttle in an attempt to make a budget reusable spacecraft (with limited success). About: Reliant About: Reliant An Entity of Type : company , from Named Graph : , within Data Space : dbpedia.org Reliant was a British car manufacturer. The company was traditionally based at Tamworth in Staffordshire.Reliant was mainly known for producing the 3-wheeled Reliant Robin, but in fact produced a variety of different vehicles during a production run of over 60 years, including popular sports cars, convertibles and commercial vehicles. Around 1 to 2 million Reliant vehicles were produced, and were sold in at least 9 countries.

For a period from the 1970s to the 1990s, Reliant was the UK's biggest British-owned car manufacturer. Property abstract Reliant was a British car manufacturer. The company was traditionally based at Tamworth in Staffordshire. Reliant was mainly known for producing the 3-wheeled Reliant Robin, but in fact produced a variety of different vehicles during a production run of over 60 years, including popular sports cars, convertibles and commercial vehicles. Around 1 to 2 million Reliant vehicles were produced, and were sold in at least 9 countries. For a period from the 1970s to the 1990s, Reliant was the UK's biggest British-owned car manufacturer. Reliant Motor company LTD is now a dormant company and the only part that still exists is Reliant partsworld which produce spares for Reliant vehicles. (en) Reliant ist eine britische Firma die von 1935 bis 2001 als Automobilhersteller tätig war.

Die Firma wurde in Tamworth (Staffordshire) gegründet und produzierte mehr als 65 Jahre lang überwiegend Dreiradfahrzeuge. Die Erfahrung in der Herstellung von Kunststoffkarosserien in Kompositbauweise ließ die Firma auch zu einem wichtigen Zulieferer verschiedener anderer Automobilhersteller werden. 2001 gab Reliant die Fahrzeugproduktion auf. In ihrem Firmensitz in Cannock ist die Firma seither als Importeur tätig. (de) Reliant es una marca fundada en Gran Bretaña en el año 1935 con base en Tamworth en Staffordshire, Inglaterra. En 2001, la fábrica fue trasladada a un lugar cercano a Cannock (Inglaterra). (es) La Reliant è stata una casa automobilistica inglese, attiva dal 1935 al 2002. (it) Reliant était un constructeur automobile britannique basée à Tamworth, dans le Staffordshire.

Fondée en 1935, elle est essentiellement connue pour avoir produit la Robin Reliant, petite voiture à trois roues. (fr) Reliant was een Britse autofabrikant. Het bedrijf was gevestigd in Tamworth (Staffordshire) Reliant werd in 1935 door T. L. Williams opgericht, om de Raleigh driewielige bestelwagen te bouwen. Dit vrachtwagentje dat qua uiterlijk doet denken aan de Vespacar was in 1933 ontworpen maar Raleigh wilde het niet langer produceren. Er zijn verschillende uitvoeringen geweest van deze driewieler bestelauto, met een laadvermogen variërend van 6 CWT tot 12 CWT. (1 CWT is bijna 50kg). (nl) Reliant – dawne brytyjskie przedsiębiorstwo branży motoryzacyjnej zajmujące się produkcją samochodów osobowych. Do produkowanych pojazdów należały m.in.

trójkołowe samochody miejskie (Regal, Robin, Rialto) oraz samochody sportowe (Scimitar, Sabre). Przedsiębiorstwo założone zostało w 1935 roku w Tamworth, w Anglii. W 2001 roku siedzibę przeniesiono do Cannock, a rok później produkcja samochodów została zakończona. (pl) Reliant es una marca fundada en Gran Bretaña en el año 1935 con base en Tamworth en Staffordshire, Inglaterra. En 2001, la fábrica fue trasladada a un lugar cercano a Cannock (Inglaterra). (es) La Reliant è stata una casa automobilistica inglese, attiva dal 1935 al 2002. (it) Reliant était un constructeur automobile britannique basée à Tamworth, dans le Staffordshire. Fondée en 1935, elle est essentiellement connue pour avoir produit la Robin Reliant, petite voiture à trois roues.

(fr) Reliant was a British car manufacturer. The company was traditionally based at Tamworth in Staffordshire.Reliant was mainly known for producing the 3-wheeled Reliant Robin, but in fact produced a variety of different vehicles during a production run of over 60 years, including popular sports cars, convertibles and commercial vehicles. Around 1 to 2 million Reliant vehicles were produced, and were sold in at least 9 countries. For a period from the 1970s to the 1990s, Reliant was the UK's biggest British-owned car manufacturer. (en) Reliant ist eine britische Firma die von 1935 bis 2001 als Automobilhersteller tätig war.Die Firma wurde in Tamworth (Staffordshire) gegründet und produzierte mehr als 65 Jahre lang überwiegend Dreiradfahrzeuge. Die Erfahrung in der Herstellung von Kunststoffkarosserien in Kompositbauweise ließ die Firma auch zu einem wichtigen Zulieferer verschiedener anderer Automobilhersteller werden. 2001 gab Reliant die Fahrzeugproduktion auf.

In ihrem Firmensitz in Cannock ist die Firma seither als Importeur tätig. (de) Reliant was een Britse autofabrikant. Het bedrijf was gevestigd in Tamworth (Staffordshire)Reliant werd in 1935 door T. L. Williams opgericht, om de Raleigh driewielige bestelwagen te bouwen. Dit vrachtwagentje dat qua uiterlijk doet denken aan de Vespacar was in 1933 ontworpen maar Raleigh wilde het niet langer produceren.Er zijn verschillende uitvoeringen geweest van deze driewieler bestelauto, met een laadvermogen variërend van 6 CWT tot 12 CWT. (1 CWT is bijna 50kg). (nl) Reliant – dawne brytyjskie przedsiębiorstwo branży motoryzacyjnej zajmujące się produkcją samochodów osobowych. Do produkowanych pojazdów należały m.in.

trójkołowe samochody miejskie (Regal, Robin, Rialto) oraz samochody sportowe (Scimitar, Sabre).Przedsiębiorstwo założone zostało w 1935 roku w Tamworth, w Anglii. W 2001 roku siedzibę przeniesiono do Cannock, a rok później produkcja samochodów została zakończona. (pl) Classic Car Hire World - Car Hire Rental - Reliant Hire, Reliant Rental ABOUT US Reliant Reliant was a British car manufacturer. The company was traditionally based at Tamworth in Staffordshire, England, but in 2001 it moved to nearby Cannock. It ceased manufacturing cars shortly afterwards. Reliant was founded in 1935 by T L Williams to take over the manufacture of the Raleigh three-wheeler delivery van. Williams had designed this in 1933 and Raleigh no longer wished to produce it. It was powered by a 750 cc V-twin engine driving the rear wheels through a 3-speed gearbox and shaft drive.

In 1939 the engine was replaced by Reliant's version of the straight-four cylinder 747 cc Austin 7 side-valve engine. In 1952 a four-seat car version was launched, and in 1956 the bodywork was changed to glass fibre. The company is notable for building composite-bodied specialist vehicles, such as the sports cars Reliant Scimitar (including the unusual sports estate Scimitar GTE) and Reliant Sabre; and the infamous three-wheeled Reliant Regal, Reliant Robin and Reliant Rialto economy cars. After absorbing Bond Cars, which had also been a maker of three-wheeler cars  though in their case with more stable rear engines  Reliant used the Bond name for the iconic 1970s Bond Bug, a sporty three-wheeler designed by the Ogle designer Tom Karen. Click here to see all models available for hire Click on an item below to see one of the models available for hire Reliant also built four-wheeled versions of the Regal and Robin, called the Reliant Rebel and Reliant Kitten respectively.

Between 1983 and 1990 a utility/pickup vehicle called the Reliant Fox was produced. This was based on an original development by the Greek company MEBEA on Reliant mechanicals and was jointly developed for production by MEBEA and Reliant; it had originally been built in Greece by MEBEA between 1979 and 1983. Reliant also made a small three-wheeled commercial vehicle called the Reliant TW9, later sold by other companies as the Ant, which was basically a chassis and cab, onto which a custom rear body was fitted and used by public utility companies. Most of these quirky and distinctly British small cars used Europe's first mass-produced lightweight overhead valve aluminium alloy engine, initially 598 cc, but enlarged through the years to a final 848 cc in 1975. Early Reliant three-wheelers used an engine derived from the 747cc 1930s Austin 7. Reliant's own aluminium alloy engine is also used as the replacement for the Austin Seven engine by the 750 Motor Club in their Formula 750 motor sport.

Reliant's expertise in the area of composite car body production has also seen the company produce lightweight body shells for Ford RS200 rally cars and a glass fibre-bodied taxi, the MetroCab  the first to have full wheelchair provision, manufactured by a division of Kamkorp. Reliant has provided designs to several other manufacturers, including Autocars in Israel and Otosan in Turkey in the 1960s, and MEBEA in Greece and Sipani in India in the 1970s. In 2001, production rights for the Reliant Robin were sold to a Sudbury-based firm called B&N Plastics, but production ceased in 2002. Reliant concentrated on importing "speciality" vehicles from European manufacturers, including Piaggio, Bultaco and Ligier. The firm also had plans to import the Indian San Storm sports car, but this plan never came to fruition.

Reliant | Vintage British Three-Wheelers The Reliant Engineering Company of Tamworth General The company is notable for building composite-bodied specialist vehicles, such as the sports cars Reliant Scimitar (including the unusual sports estate) and Reliant Sabre; and the infamous three-wheeled Reliant Robin, Reliant Regal and Reliant Rialto economy cars. 1935 Reliant was founded by T. L. Williams to take over making the Raleigh 3-wheeler delivery van which he had designed in 1933 and Raleigh no longer wished to make. It was powered by a 750 cc V twin engine to the rear wheels through a 3-speed gearbox and shaft drive. 1936 Produced a three-wheel vehicle designed by T. L. Williams. This was a 7cwt model with single-cylinder engine. Later followed by a two-cylinder 10cwt version. In 1939 the engine was replaced by Reliant's version of the straight four cylinder 747cc Austin 7 side-valve engine. In 1952 a four seat car version was launched. In 1956 the bodywork was changed to glass fibre.

1963 Motor Show exhibitor. Reliant cars. 1971 After absorbing Bond Cars , which had also been a maker of three-wheeler cars - though in their case with more stable rear engines - Reliant used the Bond name for the iconic 1970s Bond Bug, a sporty three wheeler designed by the Ogle designer Tom Karen. Reliant also built a four-wheeled version of the Reliant Robin called the Reliant Kitten; the forerunner to this was the Reliant Rebel and between 1983 and 1990 a utility / pickup vehicle called the Reliant Fox (this car was based on an original MEBEA development on Reliant mechanicals and was jointly developed for production by MEBEA and Reliant; it had originally been built in Greece by this Greek company between 1979 and 1983). They also made a small 3 wheeled commercial vehicle called the Reliant TW9, later sold by other companies as the Ant, which was basically a Chassis / Cab onto which a custom rear body was fitted and used by public utility companies.

Most of these quirky and distinctly British small cars used Europe's first mass-produced lightweight overhead valve aluminium alloy engine, initially 598 cc but enlarged through the years to a final 848 cc in 1975. (Early Reliant three-wheelers used an engine derived from the 747cc 1930s Austin Seven ). Reliant's own aluminium alloy engine is also used as the replacement for the Austin Seven engine by the 750 Motor Club in their Formula 750 motor sport. Reliant's expertise in the area of composite car body production has also seen the company produce lightweight body shells for Ford RS200 Rally cars and new Glass Fibre Bodied London Taxis, the Metrocab -� the first to have full wheelchair provision, manufactured by a division of Kamkorp. Reliant has provided designs to several other manufacturers, including Autocars in Israel and Otosan in Turkey in the 1960s, and MEBEA in Greece and Sipani in India in the 1970s. In 2001, production rights for the Reliant Robin were sold to a Sudbury-based film called B. and N.

Plastics, but production ceased in 2002. Reliant concentrated on importing "speciality" vehicles from European manufacturers, including Piaggio, Bultaco and Ligier. The firm also had plans to import the Indian San Storm sports car, but this plan never came to fruition. 2001 It moved to nearby Cannock. It ceased manufacturing cars shortly afterwards. List of Models Reliant LX for sale and Robin Rialto Regal Kitten Fox Ant Jimp - YouTube Reliant LX for sale and Robin Rialto Regal Kitten Fox Ant Jimp Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. The interactive transcript could not be loaded. Loading... Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Uploaded on Mar 6, 2010 Reliant Lx for sale at Joe Mason 07973470810 Kitten Register The Reliant Kitten Register and the Cars it caters for.

Thanks are due to the following individuals and companies who have helped provide this information:- John Box, Tempest Cars, Simon Chisholm, Peter Davis, Liege Car Company, Adrian Hanwell, Daniel Lockton, Bob Neal. And of course John Pearce for his help in producing the document, not to mention his suggestion of the idea in the first place! The Reliant Kitten Register was very poorly named by Brian Marshall back in 1991. At that time Terry Scott was still running the Rebel Register, (first begun by Barry Jones of East Sussex, who passed it on to Tim Howie of Surrey before Terry Scott took it over when Tim emigrated. It is believed that Tim had managed to acquire the factory records from Reliant, relating to Rebels, but sadly they disappeared before Terry took over as Rebel Registrar. Terry passed the register on to Eric???? also from Surrey, but he did not advertise the fact and so it came about that the Kitten Register widened its field of interest.) though, as it happened, he (Eric) was just about to sell his Rebel, and stop keeping track of those fine wee cars.

Brian had been trying, unsuccessfully, to coax Terry into widening his field of interest to encompass all of the under 1 litre 4 wheeled Reliants, and indeed all of their derivatives. So by 1993 The Reliant Kitten Register, having been formed in 1991, had a number of Rebel owners as subscribers and an invitation was sent to other Rebel owners, with the promise of a regular page in the magazine. By this time a number of Fox enthusiasts had also expressed an interest, and when it became apparent that the specials were welcome too, it was too late to change the name! Today, 2008, the Register has information on over 1000 vehicles, and enjoys the support of over 250 subscribers worldwide. The RELIANT KITTEN REGISTER exists to promote the running, repairs and restoration of all models of sub-1 litre 4-wheeled Reliant and Reliant based vehicles. This includes Tempests, Vantiques and Asquiths, Salamanders, Ciphers, Jimps, Lieges & one-offs like the Bobcat & Sienna, as well as specials and of course Reliant’s own Rebels, Kittens and Foxes.

By the late ‘90s it had become apparent that there was a need to have a document which gave a brief history of all the wee four wheelers, - I was having to relate the story over the telephone so often, and without pictures it is very difficult to describe things like the Bobcat for example, or almost any of the sports specials. Indeed Rebels and Foxes to those who have never seen one, are very difficult to describe in words alone - and as no one else was likely to compile such a document, I was “press-ganged” to have an attempt – so this is it! I know that it will possibly be incomplete, and, while as accurate as I can make it, not necessarily the whole story – but here is the latest edition, an effort to get something down on paper. I hope it is better than nothing - even though the odd figure quoted may be open to a certain amount of debate – I mean, who believes that they really built exactly 4,000 Kittens? Brian W.

Marshall – Feb 2001 – revised May 2008 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1968 Rebel Saloon In the beginning of the economy Reliant 4-wheelers, there was the Rebel, Reliant’s first venture into 4 wheeled economy motoring. Built initially as a saloon from 1964 till 1967 – the production prototypes were driven overland from the Anadol factory in Turkey for the 1964 Motor show! The estate car was introduced in 1967. It (the saloon) started life with a humble 600cc engine, which was quickly replaced by the 700cc unit producing 24 BHP. In 1972 the 750cc unit was introduced, now producing 27 B.H.P.! and whilst production was really getting off the ground in December 1973, the model was discontinued, (last chassis number 94/1762) to be replaced a year later by the Kitten. Although the Rebel was manufactured for a decade, almost a quarter of them were built in the final year of production.

A total build quantity of 2600 cars was claimed, of which about 850 were exported to a number of countries including Angola, Austria, Belgium, Bermuda, Cyprus, Israel & Portugal, 16 countries in all. The Rebel was road-tested no less than 3 times during its decade of production. I have copies of two letters from Reliant on file, dated about a decade apart, and both long after Rebel production ceased. Both written to answer the question “How many Rebels were built?” One mentions the 2600 number, the other (the more recent, but also the longest since Rebel production ceased) a figure of 4,000! I have yet to find a Rebel in Britain with a chassis number as high as 1800, and hence my comments about 2,600 produced and 850 or so exported. In December 1997 there were just 82 Rebels licensed on the roads of Britain.

The "Wee Red Car" 1977 Kitten Saloon The Kitten, the first Reliant with rectangular headlamps, (unless you count the Bond Bug!) was launched in 1975, making its first appearance in fact at the 1975 Motor Show. A new saloon would have cost you £1.449.35, and an estate car £1,574.82. (A new Mini cost just about £ 999 at that time!) We are told that 4000 were built during the following 7 years or so, the situation is confused, as towards the end a number of ‘kits’ were offered to dealers and others to complete themselves. (At least one we know of was first registered as late as 1984!) The Kitten shared some body panels with the famous Robin three wheeler, and was available in saloon, estate or van form, the latter having round headlights and a lower ratio back axle. All three Kitten body styles used the same chassis!

(Though it should be noted that there were ultimately three different Kitten chassis types, as they modified the design during its production life, the same rule applies, saloon estate and van are the same, but early and late ones differ) The Sipani Dolphin prototype first appeared in 1982, identical in appearance to the Kitten estate, though later dolphins had a different grille – there was even a 5 door version eventually. It is believed that the Sipani brothers who did a deal with Reliant were involved in a fraud case in the mid 90’s. By the end of 1997 there were 905 Kittens left in use in Britain, not a bad survival rate for a 22 year old vehicle! athough it is believed that as many again lurk awaiting re-discovery! Like the Rebel, the Kitten was built in L.H.D for export, mainly to Holland, Austria and Greece. Production ceased in 1982, when the rights were sold to Sunrise Auto Industries in India, where it became the Dolphin.

An Early Fox with 10" wheels The Fox utility was introduced in 1983, based on the Kitten chassis, but galvanised, and with a couple of improvements. Originally designed by John Crosthwaite almost a decade earlier, It came in Pick-up, Utility and Hardtop versions, and could have either a fibreglass top or a canvas cover, rear seats were also an option. Also designed for assembly by Mebea in Greece as a RagTop with 10” wheels, the “Cub” (a Kitten based Moke type vehicle, also designed by John Crosthwaite, then Chief Engineer at Reliant.) It was during the Fox production run, from 1983 till 1990 that Reliant introduced a number of changes affecting starter motors, clutches, and a number of other components including carburetors and distributors, and so not all components are interchangeable, though complete units are. Total build quantity is variously quoted as 400 or over 1,000 depending on the source. One fact seems to be that they were also built under licence overseas, which may account for the conflicting numbers.

Reliant went into receivership during 1990, and Bean engineering took them over in mid 1991. Bean only ever built 4 Fox chassis, and in fact they were all used to make Vantiques – see below. There were 310 Foxes licensed in the U.K at the end of 1997. A brace of Tandy Foxes Tandy Industries, an Isle of Wight based firm, produced a good quality two berth motor caravan conversion on the Fox chassis, and a number of these are still in use. They were built from 1984. (The firm went into receivership in 1996) Tandy Industries basic model the Firecrest was £6,650, and the higher spec Goldcrest was £7,350. Colin Dover was the man behind it, he went on to do interesting things with Citroen conversions – The last batch of Foxes left the Reliant factory without power units, and were fitted with electric motors for use by the Swedish Electricity Company.

The last Fox chassis, believed to be 170199LA000616, was used to build a Vantique (see below, after Tempest). Tempest While all this was going on, the Kitten chassis had been identified as a particularly suitable platform on which to mount a number of body types, and John Box and Ian Foster (of Teal Bugatti fame), set about designing the Tempest sports two seater, The prototype was launched in 1987. The Tempest has earned an impressive pedigree of competition successes including a class win in the 2000 Association of Central Southern Motor Clubs Trials Championship, and a third in the RACMSA National Championship the same year by Jack Williams of Rougham. Some kits were also sold so that prospective owners could assemble their own, both during, and after this time. The rights to this fine vehicle were acquired in 2000 by Stephen Campbell, of Sportsman Ltd. who intended to re-launch it early in 2001. Following all manner of difficulties, Tempest cars was acquired by John Melody in 2006 and production is now back up to speed.

Vantique John Box had other strings to his bow, and during the Tempest’s time in production he was developing and building the 1930’s looking Vantique. As the name implies, it is a van. The prototype was first on the road on 1st Nov.1989, and the last of just 11 built was completed a decade later. In fact the first 9 were complete by 1993, the last one taking a little longer to finish! Vantiques incorporated the only 4 Fox chassis built by Beans. Asquith On the van front, the Asquith Motor Carriage Company of Great Yeldham in Essex produced the Asquith, another pre-war looking van on the Fox / Kitten chassis. Powered by Reliant’s trusty 850cc engine. Asquith had approximately 40 chassis from Reliant. The body was very heavy, and the cast aluminum artillery like wheels were hard on the suspension. Some firms bought these as mobile advertising e.g. Jacobs (as in cream crackers) and ‘Hold Em Cars’ of Essex who use one as an advert for their car ‘Superstore’!

Jimp In the 80’s both the Jimp, a kind of mini Land Rover look alike, another of John Crosswaite’s designs, and the Salamander, intended as a replacement for the AC invalid car were built, the Jimp by Peter Kukla of Sandbach, from 1981 to 1984. The company folded due to funding difficulties. The remains of the Jimp stock was last seen in a warehouse in Manchester in 1988. One chassis, 8 body shells, (aluminum) and loads of parts, but the asking price of £4,000 was considered too high. It is understood that eventually some of them were turned into trailers. Salamander The Salamander was designed as a replacement for the soon to be withdrawn Villiers-engined “Invacars” and was commissioned by the Salford and Manchester Social Services (hence the name SALaMANder). Based on a, somewhat modified, Kitten chassis, built over a space frame, it was a 2 seater hatchback powered by a Ford 1,100cc engine and C3 automatic gearbox.

Well specified with power brakes, electric windows & tailgate release plus a flat floor, with doors opening right town to the bottom of the sill, it was easy for the disabled to get in and out of, and to load a wheelchair into the rear hatch. In production from 1981 till 1984, by which time the current (then new) “Motability” scheme rendered a specialist disabled vehicle obsolete. The GRP body was flimsy compared to the Reliant ones, but quite adequate. Cipher Even earlier, about 1976, the need for a small British hand built sports car had been recognised, and Tony Stevens, now Professor Tony Stevens, came up with the very sleek Cipher which made its first appearance at the Birmingham Motor Show in 1980. Sadly only 6 of them were built, two in the Reliant factory at Tamworth, and 4 by Tony himself. The Cipher uses a lot of additional steel work to locate separate fibreglass un-stressed panels. One of these was eventually acquired by TVR for evaluation by John Box in 1983. It was eventually sold on through Harrogate Horseless Carriages.

Two ‘kits’ were also sold over and above the 6 complete vehicles made, but their whereabouts is unknown. (worse than that, one of the kit owners rang the Registrar late in 2000 looking for a windscreen, - the kit never having been completed - and the contact was then lost!) It is not thought either of them was completed. Tony also built as a one off prototype before the Cipher in 1976, the Sienna. Like the Cipher which followed it, was based on the Reliant Kitten chassis and running gear. His son still drives the Sienna today. It is believed that 4 of the Ciphers now reside in Holland. The Bobcat In the background, one of John Box’s sons, Robert, had a year out from studying, and designed and built the one and only Bobcat in 1980 – well, that’s when he started the project whose design began in 1979, but a family house move got in the way, and the car was not in fact completed till 1984 ! It was a design exercise to make a Kitten do 100 MPH.

Built on a 1976 one owner Kitten estate chassis Its very distinctive looks are striking. The aluminium body is not in fact particularly light, but the car is none the less very brisk. This vehicle was owned by Joe Boulderstone-Salthouse of Stockport from 1995 till 2000 when it was acquired by Steven Cambell of Tempest cars. It was subsequently acquired by John Pearce of Leighton Buzzard and sold on in 2007 to James Butlin from Higham Ferrrers in Northants, who is presently restoring it to run alongside his other Reliant special, the “Flying Bathtub”. Joe Boulderstone-Salthouse, the man from Stockport, also happens to own a Tempest, and is the Tempest Registrar. Black Prince A number of other specials have been built on both new and secondhand Kitten running gear, perhaps the more notable being the “Black Prince”, built in 1984, designed by William Towns, one time designer for Aston Martin, who went on to style the Reliant Scimitar SST and Scimitar Sabre.

While the Black Prince’s wings are made of fibreglass, most of the rest of the body and doors are made from plywood, covered in Vinyl leather. It was on the market in the 90’s with under 100 miles on the clock ! The name Black Prince was also used by Jowett in 1929 and Invicta in 1947. Liege in full cry Then in the nineties, 18th March 1995 to be precise, Peter Davis formed the Liege Car Company, and began producing a lightweight 1950’s looking lightweight two seater sporting car which has a fibreglass body with integral floor, and utilises the Reliant 850 engine and gearbox. Like many good ideas, the initial thoughts and first drawings were in fact a decade earlier. The Liege ‘A’ frame chassis has double wishbone front suspension and an ‘A’ bracket and trailing arms at the rear. Kitten stub axles and hub assemblies are used along with a modified Kitten steering rack.

This very light weight sports special has had numerous competition successes, and while the total number of orders taken by the end of 2000 was for 38, just seven of them had been completed and passed their SVA test by December 2000. Supercharged Kitten Engine Also developed by the Liege Motor Company:- 16” by 3.5” die cast alloy wheels, supercharger Kit, twin SU inlet manifold, and under development a 4 into 1 exhaust manifold and emission multi-point fuel injection. Kitten with Jet Engine So, if it’s a different looking, good handling, economic and competitive fun vehicle you are after, with the potential to compete successfully. All you have to decide really is if you want it to have a fibreglass, aluminum of wooden body, and you’re half way do deciding which one is for you! A number of individuals have fitted non-Reliant engines into Kittens and Rebels, ranging from a Talbot Sunbeam 1 litre unit, through 1200cc Nissan, 1600cc Fiat, 1800cc Vauxhaull and 2 litre Ford, to even a Rover V8!

Not forgetting a couple of motorcycle engines, in many cases more than double or triple the horsepower from even less weight than the Reliant unit ! A few racing specials have also been built, but sadly their owners are too busy enjoying themselves to have much time to write about them! Reliant History 1934 - 2001 Country: The Reliant Motor company thrived for over forty years, largely due to one, almost illogical, loophole in British legislation. At the time, provided a car weighed less than eight hundredweight and had three wheels, it was treated by the licensing authorities as a motor cycle. It could be driven by anyone with a motor cycle licence, without the need for a car license, and it was taxed as if it were a motor cycle and sidecar. The Raleigh Cycle Company The Reliant Car Company was formed in 1934 as a result of the Raleigh Cycle Company making the decision to discontinue production of their three-wheeled vehicles. The man who was at the time in charge of this section of the Raleigh Company, Mr T. L.

Williams, saw a future for the development of the three-wheeler, and set up a company and workshop in the garden of his home in Tamworth, Staffordshire. The prototype Reliant three-wheeler van had its first licence stuck on its windscreen in January 1935. In the four years prior to the outbreak of World War 2, the product was developed in the light of practical experience - although it remained a fairly austere little vehicle. The original garden premises were soon out-grown, and a new site for a factory was found nearby at Two Gates. Offices were built, and plant constructed. The Reliant Motor Company, although in future years never to reach a state of true volume production, nor ever really wanting to, was no longer a back-garden industry. This was obviously an unsettling time to be setting up a new motor company, and in the first month of the war the whole of the productive effort of the factory was diverted to engineering work under government contract. Up until this time, Reliant had been using the Austin Seven engine for their vehicles, but in the previous few years the company had developed their own 747 cc side-valve power unit.

It was still very strongly based on the Austin Seven engine which they had used until 1938, but it was a big step for such a small company to be manufacturing the engine for their vehicles as well as body and chassis components. It was a policy of self-sufficiency which was to be maintained until some years later when the company began buying in power units for their four-wheeled sports cars. As with other car makers the war years were bleakly unproductive in terms of vehicle development, but the relatively young factory had plenty of opportunity to settle down and develop a working production line technique which would prove invaluable when the lines were again turned over to van production. The First Reliant - The Regal After the second world war Reliant resumed production of the three-wheeler van. But it was not until 1953 that Reliant produced their first passenger car. The most important step that the firm took was in deciding to investigate the possibilities of using fibreglass as a material for the car bodies. In 1956, the Reliant Regal was the first of their vehicles to emerge with a body of fibreglass moulding on an ash framework.

The car had a chassis frame of box section side members and tubular cross members. The front cross tube carried a pivot for the front wheel suspension arm and a torsion bar spring inside the tube itself. The power unit - still the three bearing crankshaft side valve engine - and the radiator, were mounted behind the front wheel. The whole unit, clumsily concealed under a huge fibreglass tunnel, intruded considerably into the passenger space. Reliant's sister company Bond built the MKB Mini during the 1950's. 1950's Reliant 10 cwt van. 1950's Reliant 10 cwt van. 1961 Reliant Regal, which was fitted with a 750cc engine. Reliant Sabre 1700cc Convertible. Reliant Robin Interior. Reliant TW9 pick-up, the offspring of the company's relationship with Mebea of Athens (Greece). There was a normal open prop shaft which drove a live rear axle suspended from two leaf springs. The single front wheel was suspended by a leading arm and was sprung by the torsion bar inside the front cross tube.

The interior trim was basic, the finish crude and the accommodation for rear passengers, very cramped, although, to be fair, the original concept was for a vehicle intended to carry two adults and two children. There were perspex rear and side windows (to save on weight) which could be opened either from the inside or the outside. But all round visibility was not good, even by the inadequate standards of the mid-fifties. It didn't help that the perspex side windows could be easily scratched as they were slid open and shut. The early Regal was a very noisy vehicle - but the owner could console themselves with the thought that petrol consumption was usually no worse than about 45 mpg. Top speed was around 60 mph and as power output of the side-valve 750 cc engine was only 16 bhp and torque only a well-meaning 28 lb ft at 2,000 rpm, acceleration was not a strong point. The steering of the early Regal was very high geared. It took only 1½ turns of the steering wheel to go from lock to lock.

This and the 26 ft turning circle, combined with the small overall dimensions, made it a handy, if slightly uncomfortable little car. Reliant Switch to Unitary Body Construction It was not until 1962 that the Regal was constructed with a unitary body of fibreglass-reinforced polyester resin, known usually as GRP. To qualify for the licensing concessions there was a constant need to check that components and the finished vehicle were made to within very fine weight limitations. Unitary construction of fibreglass provided the lightest, most practical method of producing an automobile for the budget end of the market. The six-acre glass-fibre moulding factory at Kettlebrook was acquired by Reliant after a fire destroyed a previous plant in 1966 and was turned into a purpose built plant employing, by the mid 1970's, nearly 450 people in 106,000 square feet of floor space. The predominant process employed in the manufacture of body parts is the traditional one of building up layers of fibreglass and resin by hand to achieve a uniform thickness - although some components were produced by using matched dies and hot press mouldings.

The rolls of fibreglass arrived from suppliers and were cut, sixty layers at a time, into patterns. At least two layers of mat were used in a body moulding and each three wheeler was composed of some one hundred and sixty mat patterns. The fibreglass generally used had a tensile strength of up to 400,000 lbs per square inch. In the three-wheeler production shop there were tracked production lines of finished inner and outer body moulds. The moulds were washed, dried, polished, gel-coated with a polyester resin and cured between each process. A mould was ready about every twelve minutes. Resin with catalyst was added followed by 'laying up' the fibreglass sheets while the resin was worked into them. The line was arranged so that moulds could be revolved through three hundred and sixty degrees, then the sides, roof and floor could be built up conveniently. There were very close weight tolerances and each component was checked to ensure that it is within the weight limits. Body mouldings were then moved to the trim shop where excess material was cut away, edges sanded smooth and holes for electrical and other fittings drilled.

After cleansing, outer bodies were heated in an oven to reveal any air bubbles, imperfections were remedied with filler and doors and bonnets were mounted on the bodies before they are despatched to the assembly plant at Two Gates. That the fibreglass method of body construction did not require the use of heavy power machinery or presses was the major factor which spurred Reliant to develop the idea of setting up a 'package deal' motor industry concept. This enabled an overseas manufacturer to set up their own Reliant plant relatively painlessly - particularly valuable for less industrialised countries. With this sort of deal, and with only a low capital investment, manufacturers could achieve profitable production at minimal outlay, something like 1000 units per annum were viable, it was claimed. There was also the advantage that bodies were manufactured locally and therefore a high percentage of the labour force was local. Also, vehicles could be adapted at the production stage to ensure that they are suited to local conditions. Autocars Ltd of Haifa, and the Reliant Sabre We dont know if the 1000 units per annum was actually achieved, but the first working example of this scheme was put into operation in Israel.

In the late 'fifties, the political and social climate in Israel was ideal, and between 1958 and 1962 Reliant designed three vehicles for Autocars Ltd, of Haifa. They were the Sussita station wagon, the Carmel economy family saloon and the Sabra sports car. The most interesting of these was the Sabra - or Sabre as it was known in the United Kingdom. The Sabre was first presented to a somewhat bemused and generally unimpressed British motoring public at the 1961 Earls Court Show. It had the distinction of being the first four-wheeler to be produced by Reliant. In appearance it was somewhat ugly with a very pronounced droop snoot bonnet and very untidy detail design. Drawing on experience gained from production of the three-wheelers, the car was manufactured from glass-fibre with a simple chassis frame of parallel boxed side members and cross members. The body was mounted on outriggers. The front suspension design was unusual in that it consisted of leading arms with very long pivot bearings - the geometrical effect being theoretically similar to a swing axle set-up.

At the rear there was a beam axle on coil springs located by a sort of Watt linkage which was unusual in that it was mounted fore and aft rather than transversely. Steering on the Sabre was by rack and pinion and there were disc brakes at the front and drums at the rear. Reliant had fitted a Ford Consul 1703 cc engine into the car, but there were a variety of degrees of tune offered. An unexpected refinement was the well German ZF gearbox which had synchromesh on all four cogs - something not all could boast in the early 1960's. Unfortunately, the car suffered from severe scuttle shake over bad surfaces and, perhaps because of this, very few were to survive. The Sabre was not cheap and it did not sell very successfully. The Reliant Sabre Six GT In 1963 the Sabre was completely redesigned and the resultant car, the Sabre Six GT, was much more successful and attractive. The body shape was cleaned up considerably and much of the original Sabre chassis was scrapped. The front suspension was of more straightforward wishbone and coil spring design. In fact, it used the same units as the Triumph TR4 .

At the back, the original coil spring and longitudinal Watt linkage was retained. The uninspiring Ford Consul engine was superseded by the more lusty Ford Zodiac 2.6-litre unit, but unfortunately the excellent ZF box was ousted by the cheaper and standard Ford one - usually with an overdrive. The Sabre Six was generally good for about 110 mph and acceleration was reasonable. The car had quite good handling properties for its time and retained the disc/drum brake set-up of the earlier Sabre. After Israel, the next country to get a Reliant package deal was Turkey. The Otosan Anadol was based upon an experimental Reliant vehicle, the FW 5. The Anadol was produced by Otosan of Istanbul after approval for its production was obtained from the Turkish Government in February 1966. It was the first car ever to be produced in Turkey. Mebea of Athens By December 1966, the first Anadols were being made in a specially constructed factory although, initially, output was only about twenty vehicles per week. By the end of 1973, production had increased to around 10,000 vehicles per year.

Otosan also made Reliant-designed cabs for Ford D type trucks since 1966. A package deal was sold to Greece in 1969 for the manufacture of the Reliant TW9 pick-up - a three wheeled vehicle with capacity for a 16 cwt payload. The little truck was made by the Mebea Company of Athens. By the late 1950's it was apparent that if the Reliant Regal three-wheeler was to remain competitive in the UK more weight would have to be saved in the engine compartment and spent on trim and general finish. Also, the old side-valve engine could no longer deliver the performance of contemporary four-wheelers. The days of the old side-valve Austin Seven based 750 cc unit were numbered. There was no suitable engine being produced by any other manufacturer at this time, so the decision was taken to go ahead with the design and development of a completely new engine. The Reliant Regal 3/25 It was not until 1962 that the company were able to put into production at Tamworth the result of this development work.

This was a 600 cc four-cylinder push-rod engine with a combined cylinder block and crank case. There was a conventional, detachable head and the entire unit was of light alloy. The first Reliant model to be fitted with the new unit was the Regal 3/25 which brought the three-wheeler range a little closer in terms of trim, equipment, and performance, to contemporary small four-wheeler sedans. At this time the engineering factory at Tamworth was stretched to full capacity and as a result additional premises were bought seven miles away at Shenstone. The 93,000 square feet plant was opened in 1963 by Jim CIark . The Reliant Rebel 600 The Rebel represented Reliant's first serious venture in the four-wheeler economy car market. Introduced as the Rebel 600 in 1964, it was available as a sedan or an wagon car. The Rebel 700 replaced the 600 in 1967 and with the 701 cc alloy engine it was capable of about 70 mph and 40 mpg on average.

Suspension was by coil springs and wishbones at the front with a beam axle and leaf springs at the back. The Rebel followed established Reliant tradition by being of glass fibre construction with a separate pressed steel chassis. In 1969, Reliant acquired Bond Cars Ltd and the following year the Bond Bug two seater was announced. The Reliant Robin and Scimitar Then, in October 1973, as part of a general expansion plan, the Robin three-wheeler was announced as a replacement for the Regal which had grown decidedly long in the tooth and low in appeal. The Reliant range of models is very rare in the motor industry in that it includes economy vehicles and a desirable and quite prestigious coupe-but nothing really in between. The GTE on sale in 1978 was derived directly from the original Scimitar introduced in 1964. The Scimitar was designed by David Ogle and represented the real breakthrough into the sports car market that Reliant had hoped for, but failed to achieve, with the earlier Sabres. In its 1978 form, as the Scimitar GTE, it combined hatchback car space with excellent handling.

It was perhaps about as far away from the basic, original three-wheeler Reliant concept as it was possible to get. It used the muscular Ford 3-Iitre V6 which pushed out 135 bhp, and top speed was in the region of 120 mph. The chassis was of boxed section pressed steel with tubular braced cross members. Steering was by rack and pinion and suspension was wishbones and coil springs at the front with an anti-roll bar , and by coil springs, trailing arms and Watt linkage at the rear. The Watt linkage on the Scimitar was of the conventional transverse type as against the peculiar longitudinal system which was employed on the earlier Sabre and Sabre Six. By October 1973, Reliant had undertaken the first stage of a UK£1,750,000 expansion programme which increased the productivity of all Reliant's plants. This was also the year of the Robin. The bodyshell was a completely new shape and, as before, it was mounted on a boxed section pressed steel chassis frame with tubular cross members.

The single front wheel was suspended on a leading arm sprung by a coil spring and at the rear the beam axle was hung from a leaf spring with double acting shock absorbers and an anti-roll bar . The 748cc engine then produced 32 bhp at 5500 rpm in the Robin and the gearing was such that 1000 rpm in top gear resulted in a road speed of 15.5 mph. The old mid-'fifties Regal previously mentioned only managed 12.9 mph at the same engine speed. The unit still retained the removable wet liners in each cylinder and the three bearing crankshaft. The reasonably good looking body of the Robin was also designed by David Ogle and most motoring journalists believed Reliant were aiming for a slightly more up market image for the three-wheeler (even Princess Anne had a Robin). But the interior trim and equipment was far more attractive and better thought out than the previous three-wheelers by Reliant. The Reliant Kitten Pricewise it then came hard up against competition from small four-wheelers. It was not cheap and its appeal now depended even more than ever upon the idiosyncrasies of the vehicle licensing authorities.

But while the Robin could be driven on a motor bike licence, it would probably sell. Van and Wagon variants followed and maintained interest in Reliant's economy cars until the launch of the Kitten - essentially a four-wheeled Robin; a 'proper' car with three-wheel frugality. Again, it was produced in sedan, wagon and van versions and might easily have laid claim to being the ultimate city car with its ultra-compact dimensions, 24 feet turning circle and 30 cubic feet luggage capacity. In the absence of a modern Mini, the Kitten filled a gap in the rock bottom motoring market. It was basically unsophisticated, but Reliant showed a commendable attention to its interior detailing which gave it a slightly up-market image. By 1978 the factory was employing around 300 workers plus about thirty administrative staff to produce 17,000 engine and gear box units tor the various small Reliant models. (Scimitar components were also assembled here at the rate of about 3000 units per year).

About 50 per cent of the mechanical parts for the smaller Reliant models were manufactured at Shenstone where the factory had a 40,000 square feet main engineering workshop which had the capacity to produce more than 400 engines, transmissions and suspensions weekly. Cylinder heads and blocks, crankshafts, camshafts and con-rods all moved along the production lines and components for engines, gearboxes, rear axles and front suspensions were all processed in various sections of the shop. Gear cutting was also carried out at Shenstone. The cogs for the differentials and gearboxes were all cut at this factory. Reliant also designed all their own jigs and fixtures in the Shenstone drawing office and they were produced in the plant's tool room. Dynamos, starters, and brake components, however, were bought in from outside contractors. The Two Gates factory at Tamworth was on the site of the old Midland Red bus garage and it was the place where Reliant production first started. It was also the place where all Reliant vehicle chassis were built and where bodies from Kettlebrook and engines from Shenstone came together for assembly into finished three-wheelers and Scimitars.

Chassis pressings were made by a subsidiary of Reliant, Press Operations Ltd. On arrival they were welded and coated with protective paint in a dipping plant. The body shells from Kettlebrook travelled along rails, were painted and final assembly took place on twinned conveyors. There was a final assembly area in which each three-wheeler was checked to make sure that it did not exceed the eight hundredweight limit. By the late 1970's Reliant were part of the Hodge' Group and the parent company was the Standard and Chartered Banking Group. The founder of the Hodge Group, Sir Julian Hodge, was also Chairman of the Reliant Motor Group and of the Reliant Motor Company. The Reliant Rialto In 1981 Reliant introduced the wedge-shaped Rialto which whilst still used the 850cc engine, but it now featured a galvanised chassis. But the reputation of Reliant had been built on the Robin, and so in 1989 the Reliant Robin Mk 2 was introduced. The 1990’s were a turbulent time for Reliant who called in the receivers on 0ctober 25th 1990.

Owners included Beans Engineering (for approximately 4 years), the Avonex Group and, by 1996 a small group banded togther to keep the marque alive. Amazingly they were able to get production sorted and, in the first full year 720 cars were built - and Reliant even managed to expand into lightweight commercial vehicles. By 1999 Reliant had also moved into import and distribution with various new models that included the Ligier Microcar from France, the Piaggio Ape commercial vehicle from Italy. Not suprisingly, Reliant ceased making 3-wheelers in February 2001. To mark 65 years (though it was actually 66 years by the time the last Reliant was made) of 3-wheeler production Reliant built 65 Special Edition Robins, aptly called the Robin 65, that were individually numbered with a plaque on the dashboard. The last Reliant Robin was collected by its owner on February 14th 2001. That year production rights for the Reliant Robin were sold to a Sudbury-based firm called B&N Plastics, but production ceased in 2002.

Reliant concentrated on importing "speciality" vehicles from European manufacturers, including Piaggio, Bultaco and Ligier. The firm had plans to import the Indian San Storm sports car, but this plan never came to fruition. Soon after, they existed only as a spare parts manufacturer. Reliant Models: Regal 1951-1972 and Supervan III Sabre 1961-1964

Question: Which British car manufacturer produced the Regal, Rebel, and Kitten?
Answer: Reliant