The Peel P50

So a lot of you guys asked me to review some weird or unorthodox cars

Welp, your wish has been granted.

Introducing the Peel P50, the smallest car in the world. This car was made in the unassuming Isle of Man. For those not in the know, the Isle of Man is an offshore island between England and Ireland, famous for holding the Isle of Man TT, an annual motorbike race around the island, known for being one of the most dangerous races on earth.

the Peel P50 was also advertised as being a cheaper alternative to public transport, strangely enough.

Looks: 9/10

This might not be supercar beautiful but it has it’s own petit charm.

Starting from the back it’s definitely a sight to behold. You can see how narrow the car is. It doesn’t look very bulky it just looks very……. how do i describe it…….

Ah…. cute.

I was never really a fan of cute things but goddamn even the back of this car is giving me that mini 7 Wonders of the World vibe. The bottom of the car looks very conical and the top looks very slim. It’s like having a really fat butt but having a very thin waistline and body.

You know those Disney princess shows that have gala dancing with those spoofy dresses?

Yeah they do look like that. It looks unique because not many cars look like that and it’s an instant head turn. The rear lights look very reminiscent of ’60s cars rear lights, just little dots at the back.

At the side you can see just how small the car is based on its length. The average length of a car, being the Audi A4 is about 4.5 meters. Here the length is 134 cm, around two and a half times shorter if my math is right. You can see how the single wheel at the back juts out near the door as well as the two front wheels that are totally exposed to the elements. You can see the boxy design from the ’60s with the very geometric door design. It’s another eye opening nostalgic design you can’t find on modern cars and that’s a plus. As for the tires, there’s actually nothing really remarkable except for the fact that they used all terrain tyres.

The front is really unique. From afar it would look like a motorcycle was approaching because of the singular big headlight, but then you see the other four foglights and you would probably know that it’s a Peel P50. Then again it’s a very strange layout for headlights but for a car as small as this i would think that it gave maximum visibility at night on the backroads of small towns in the Isle of Man.

Note: I’ll be skipping Modability for this car because most people that have this car keep it as pristine as possible. They only have screenshots from a game and the picture quality is horrid and frankly, modability in some games aren’t realistic.

Engine: 2/10

Now, hear me out, there’s another reason besides the performance that does not make this engine good.

A small car of course has a small engine. Of course this engine can be used on a trashy motorcycle. They sold two types of P50s, an electric version and a petrol version, with both a manual 3 speed gearbox with no reverse gear (how the heck are you gonna park??) ,a one speed fixed gear ratio, or for the EV, a continuously variable transmission. Now the stats are awful. It’s a 49cc engine with a 37kph top speed and a measly 4 hp (3.5hp in the EV). There’s not even a 0-100kph time nor is there a quarter mile time for this car, granted, because it wasn’t made for that purpose.

Now what do stats this awful mean? It can’t keep up with traffic even on side roads even though it was made for city streets. If there’s an incline the car wouldn’t be traverse it. That’s why cars today have at least 95bhp and has a top speed of at least 150kph. But again, the engine wasn’t the intended selling point of this car.

Practicality:4/10

This car was sold to be a small car that can fit through small tight spaces be it in traffic jams or narrow European streets, made to fit only the driver and to have space for a little bit of groceries. You probably can fit a passenger inside but that does require a bit of effort.

For amenities it is absolutely shoddy. No air conditioning, provided it was made in the ’60s, no radio and it had a sliding window. Bluetooth wasn’t invented, GPS wasn’t invented nor are there cup holders. The steering wheel looks pretty standard for a ’60s car and the seats are pretty standard, no beautiful premium embroidery, just cheap factory leather. That said it does provide a little bit of comfort. Other than that there isn’t any redeeming qualities for the P50’s interior. It’s small as a microcar should be, it’s cramped, which induces claustrophobia and overall not a good experience, even more so if there’s a lot of groceries involved. If you worry a bout safety, fret not! Safety standards are about as good as a Ford Pinto! (which is to say not very good). They only have a seatbelt and even then you probably won’t use it.

Price: You can’t get this car anywhere.

It’s not like other cars where they’ve stopped production and there’s still a market, the Peel P50 is very rare. they only made 50 P50s and only 27 still exist.

The last known sale was in 2017 where a Peel P50 sold for 59,000 Pounds Sterling, (about SGD$108,000 ). There are companies in the UK making recreation Peel P50s for 13,000 Pounds according to Autocar if you want a taste of driving a microcar. However, don’t expect the Peel to come to Asia, it will take a long time for that. Let’s just say that as of 2021, don’t expect to get your hands on this car.

Overall: 4/10

Since it’s so rare i’d rather entrust this car to a collector or a Garage Queen (a person who keeps it in his garage to show off) rather than buy it myself. Sure it’s novel and is a head turner but if i were to buy this and drive it every day I’d drive myself mad. Would I recommend it to anyone? I’d say proceed with caution. Unless you just want a head turner and instant gratification for a month, you’re not getting much for an arm and a leg. It holds the Guinness World Record for the smallest car in the world for a reason, none of it being particularly good…..