Thanks to one of the most popular Top Gear segments ever, the Peel P50 is now well-established in the minds and imaginations of the world’s automotive cognoscenti. After all, how often does Clarkson say that “if [car X] had a reverse gear, I would describe it as the absolute ultimate in personal mobility”? But now there’s another reason to pay attention to Peel: having been bought a few years back by Gary Hillman and Faizal Khan, the British microcar maker is set for a comeback that’s being funded by Sonny Coreleone himself, actor some British investor named James Caan (born Nazim Khan… cheers to colin42 for the British pop culture lesson, and apologies for unwittingly making the story better than it is).
For about $125k, Caan has bought 30 percent of Peel (as well as one P50 and one Trident), as part of the BBC show “The Dragon’s Den,” in which entrepreneurs vie for startup money. Peel is building about 50 electric-powered cars per year, and is seeking to expand the brand into non-automotive merchandise. Why would Caan invest in the world’s smallest cars?
When investing I often look for things that are a little bit different. Rare opportunities can surprise you and add fun to the process. As a British made product, Peel encompasses traditional values and manufacturing.
Not only will there be plenty people who want to own a piece of history by having a Peel but the brand is ideally placed to expand into a larger product range.
Should I “want to own a piece of history” in that size I’d rather select the Messerschmitt Tiger (http://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Datei:FMR_Tg500_am_1976-08-14.jpg&filetimestamp=20060627223449)
Uh,… that’s a Kabinenroller. I’ve never heard or seen them referred to as a “Tiger”, and the linked article makes no mention of that name either. WTF, over?
Kabinrollers are cool… but the Peel P50 is cooler… like comparing a Bf 109 with a Spitfire!
“How to reduce the carbon footprint of our ethnically diverse disability access policy for single mothers.” Ha ha ha….awesome. And the pan around the table, oh my.
How to create a small fortune?
Start with a big one,
and makes investments like this.
I wonder if they put an electric motor in the thing for the interior shots.
Jesus. You’d have to be nuts to ride drive one of those things without a helmet.
I’m glad you tagged this article as ‘Whiskey Tango Foxtrot’ as that’s the very first thing that crossed my mind after reading it.
The WTF tag makes sense. But why tag it “Electric Vehicles”?
UPDATE: Oh, I see, Peel makes electric cars now.
” Fiona, could you give me a push?”
“A push?”
“Yes, it’s got no reverse gear”
“She has quite a nice bottom”
“I said that out loud, didn’t I?”
Ed, you must’ve been crushed this news item couldn’t be saved until April 1.
– the British microcar maker
“For that reason alone…I’m out.”
self-described “ultra conservative” actor James Caan.
– different James Caan
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Caan_(entrepreneur)
Wow, great catch. EN: I think you need to update the article.
Even if the actor James Caan was involved with this car, I’m not sure what his conservative values have to do with it.
Oh man, I need to catch up on my British pop culture… actually, I need to catch up on pop culture generally. God help me, but I thought that the guy in the middle of this picture was an aging Jimmy Caan (not having seen him in anything lately). Apologies to all for unwittingly making this story better than it actually is.
@EN: It’s still a good story. The TopGear piece was nice. The car, not so much.
As Emily Litella would have said, “Nevermind.”
Still a cool story, especially herb’s link to the Messerschmitt Tiger.
@ steve65: The official label was Messerschmitt TG 500, as Messerschmitt was not allowed to use the Tiger label, due to copyright reasons (a truck manufacturer had tradmarked the Tiger label).
The German Wikipedia entry (http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messerschmitt_Kabinenroller) has some nice pics that show the difference between TG 500 and the other Kabinenroller.
BTW: Here is a video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7W8-2wd6XwE.
“As a British made product, Peel encompasses traditional values and manufacturing.” Does that mean this will be a car made with electronics by the prince of darkness, and has body panels that will be falling off before you get it home? Or does it simply mean it will be made by communists?
Don’t worry, panzerfaust. Both Lucas and communists are out of business for a while. As the rest of the UK car industry (except Morgan, Bristol (“handbuilt cars for individuals”) is international now, you might even be lucky with body panels.