Today’s world is a fast paced one. No one has time to waste or to wait and all the people are following the philosophy of ‘Time is Money’. In this fast paced world, everyone is aware about the fastest things present today. For example, I am sure that you will know about the fastest cars of the world, their speeds, and other tech-specs or the fastest trains, planes and their speeds etc. But have you ever given a thought that there are numerous things in the world that are slow also. Do you know which the slowest car in the world is? What is its speed? How much does it cost? And most important one, who the manufacturer is? In this article we will answer all your questions. Just read on and enlighten yourself with the details of the slowest car in the world.
What Is The Slowest Car In The World?
Peel P50, a three wheeled microcar, is not only the slowest car but also the smallest car ever made. Originally manufactured between 1962 and 1965, Peel P50 was manufactured by the Peel Engineering company and the location was Isle of Man. The unique feature of the car is that it does not have reverse gear, but only a handle attached at the rear of the car that will allow you to physically maneuver it when required. Considering its size and the light weight, Guinness Book of World Records listed the car as the smallest production automobile in the year 2010.
Peel P50 was designed with the purpose to be sold as a city car. When advertised, it showed the vehicles various unique capabilities. The car has only one seating possible with a space to keep one shopping bag. It has only one door that is also on the left side of the car and was equipped with single windscreen wiper and a single headlight. It was available in the three standard colors. Those were Dark blue, Dragon Red, and Daytona White.
When launched for the first time in the year 1962-63, the price of the car was 199 pounds and 50 units of the car was manufactured out of which 27 are still in the existence. But unfortunately, the production was stopped in the year 1965.
In the year 2010, one other company called Peel Engineering Ltd. based in England; do not confuse yourself with Peel Engineering Company from Isle of Man (the original one), made the replica version of Peel P50. The external body of the car is as same as the previous one but its internal mechanism has been upgraded technologically. The vehicle is driven with the help of an electric motor and at the speed of approximately 16 kilometer per hour or 10 miles per hour. This model of Peel P50 was only produced with the purpose of display and was not allowed and also was not legal on the roads. But in the year 2011, the legal production of Peel P50 was commenced. The company started manufacturing the vehicle in two versions. One version of the Peel P50 was petrol and the other one was electric vehicle, which means you need to charge the battery of the vehicle. Most of the colors that were introduced in 2011 were as same as the older model, only Dark blue being replaced by Capri Blue. The production plant of the Peel P50 is situated in Sutton-in-Ashfield, England.
Tech-Specs
You will be amazed after knowing the dimensions of the vehicle. The great Peel P50 by Peel Engineering Ltd. is just 54 inches long and 39 inches wide, and has the weight of approximately 59 kilograms which is equal to 130 lb. The P50 also holds the record for being the smallest car ever manufactured in the automobile industry.
The Older P50 (1962-66)
The older P50 had the engine of 49 cc manufactured by DKW which was able to give vehicle a top speed of around 60 kilometer per hour or 37 miles per hour. It also had a three speed manual transmission system but without a reverse gear. If ever you want to turn the car, it can easily be done with the help of holding the handle which is present at the rear of the car. The other option you had to turn the car is to lift it up with the same rear handle and turn it, as the weight of the car is just 59 kg, hence it can easily be lifted and turned. If we talk about the P50’s fuel consumption, the manufacturers claimed the fuel consumption of about 100 mpg (2.8 l/100 km; 83 mpg).
During the duration of its manufacture, 1962-66, around 47 Peel P50 cars were sold, all of them at a price of 199 pounds each.
The Newer Peel P50 (2011-Present)
With the beginning of the production of revived model of Peel P50 in the year 2011, the company decided to launch the three versions of the vehicle. These three versions were, Eco, Gas and Fun. But in the present times, the line has been reduced to just two versions, namely Eco and Gas models. The speed of the new Peel P50 has been reduced to only 45 km per hour or 28 miles per hour with the help of a computerized system. This is the ideal speed of the vehicle. But, in case, if a customer requests to increase the speed, it can be done easily.
In October 2007, the car was featured in the automobile programme called Top Gear which is a BBC motoring programme. So this is the slowest and smallest car in the world, just imagine, how it will be cool to drive such a small car.
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