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World's smallest car back in production
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At just one-sixteenth the weight of the smallest existing Canadian car, the British-made Peel P50 is tiny. But the world's smallest car is back in production after its original run of 50 in the 1960s. It's electric, and coming to a street near you.
If you are a fan of the vastly popular British TV show Top Gear, you might remember the episode in which Jeremy Clarkson drives the single-seat Peel P50 to work and around the offices of the BBC. It was a classic.
Well, the saying "good things come in small packages" may in fact be true as two British business have resurrected the single-seater Peel P50, the car listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the smallest production car ever made. A total of 25 units are set to be built.
Only 50 P50s were made in the 1960s and the new owners, car enthusiasts Gary Hillman and Faizal Khan, claim that original models sell for more than $100,000. The pair is hoping to develop a merchandise business to capitalise on the retro appeal of the quirky runabouts.
The P50 weighed less than 60 kilograms and was just 137cm long. The P50 is was so small, it could be lifted by their rear bumper and wheeled in to tight parking spots. By comparison, the newest small car in Canada, the micro-sized Scion iQ, weighs 960 kg and stretches to an enormous 304.5 cm. Don't try picking this car up at home or the office.
The P50's early advertising material said it had enough room for "one adult and a shopping bag". It had a single door on the left hand side, one windscreen wiper and one headlight. Today, some would call this a baby stroller on steroids.
But the latest incarnation has a modern twist, with the P50 available with two electric motors putting out just 1kW. The electric vehicle has a top speed of 12km/h and a range of about 25 kilometres. Prices start at about $20,000. Reports say only nine of the vehicles are left. Better get yours fast!
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