Boss Todd’s Garage, Episode 12: The 1966 Peel Trident

Camaro Burnout pics only!!! - Third Generation F-Body Message Boards
[source]
[A 1985 Camaro IROC-Z squeals its tires, bursting onscreen to the sounds of Judas Priest’s “Breakin’ The Law”.]

BOSS TODD IS FUCKIN’ BACK, BITCHES!

[source]
Just over two weeks out from the start of the USFL season and nobody still has a fucking clue what’s going on. Who the hell’s gonna start at QB for the Showboats? Literally none of the guys I have on the roster right now have ever thrown a touchdown at the pro level in any league. Absolute assclownery. Thank fuck we got a five-year NFL vet at RB in Alex Collins. Just gotta pound the rock all day, every day. If he goes down with injury, we’re absolutely fucked.

That said, I really hope he stays healthy. But if not, gotta check the USFL rulebook to see if I can get my backups on field in one of these things…

The Peel Trident Was The World's Smallest Production Car - It's Now Worth A Cool $100,000 USD
[source]

THE PEEL TRIDENT

Model Year: 1966

Total units produced: 86 (original run)

Vehicle type: Three-wheel, two-seater fibreglass flip-top microcar

Engine: DKW 1-cylinder, two-stroke, 49 cc, 4.2 hp

Drivetrain: RWD, single rear wheel

Transmission: 3-speed manual

Gross weight: 330 lbs.

0-60 time: Entirely fictional

Top speed: 28 mph

Vehicle cost: £190 (in 1964 – equivalent to £1,973.81 or $2,431.63 today)

What makes this car interesting?

When automotive enthusiasts think of the Isle of Man, the world-famous motorcycle race, a staple since 1907, is probably the first thing that comes to mind. How fitting that an island famous for its small-engine racing took that further and gave us some of the wildest tiny cars ever invented.

Peel Engineering, also based on the Isle of Man, was in business from 1940 to 1974. They got their start with fiberglass boat design, but eventually made their way into the automotive world in the early 1960s. Before the Trident, they launched another wacky microcar, the P50, which was a similar unibody fiberglass construction – a one-door, single-seater design with a side engine mount and no reverse gear- that got their foot in the door as an automotive manufacturer (and a Guinness World Record as the smallest production car ever manufactured). The P50, although very famous nowadays thanks to an episode of Top Gear, was just a little bit too impractical, and Peel returned with a new design, the Trident, in 1965.

The Trident wasn’t much bigger than the P50, but it was certainly more practical, having added a second seat (or a detachable shopping basket, if you prefer!) and a reverse gear to its transmission. At 83 miles per gallon, it was also unbelievably economical on fuel, even by modern standards. With a lightweight fiberglass body and highly unique Perspex bubble top, it was also one of the most unique vehicle designs of the 1960s – not to mention one of the most cost-effective. Its extremely low price made it an appealing option for customers, not to mention the fact that its tiny size only required drivers to hold a motorcycle driver’s license and not a full automobile license, giving an additional discount on insurance rates too.

The Peel Trident Was The World's Smallest Production Car - It's Now Worth A  Cool $100,000 USD
That’s a pretty spartan interior there. [source]
Peel went out of business in 1974, but was resurrected in 2010 thanks to a few keen investors on the British Dragon’s Den, and a few one-off modern replicas have since been built of both the P50 and the Trident, including some with gas engines and automatic transmissions (with a proper reverse gear this time!) and some that are full electric as well. With a price tag now of around $16K USD per vehicle, that’s a significant jump over the original… but demand is apparently nonstop. Figures that the British are relentlessly nostalgic for a more prosperous era!

What makes this car stupid?

No windows and no A/C… Maybe that works in the gloomy shithole that is the British Isles, but not here in our SMOKIN’ HOT UNITED STATES OF MOTHER FUCKIN’ AMERICA! SWEATIER THAN JERRY JONES’ WHORES AT SUNDAY MASS UP UNDER THAT SHIT.

Also, 28 miles a fuckin’ hour? Jesus Christ. That’s embarrassing. Five years from now they’re gonna have NFL linemen that can run faster than that.

Fucking Jetson-ass bitch. Try cramming Fridge Perry’s ass into this shit. You’d have to sell it with a matching goddamn shoehorn. It’s a car for Victorian orphans. God, I hate the fucking Brits.

CAN YOU GET PUSSY IN THIS CAR? 

The first guy who figures it out is getting a goddamn Nobel Prize for physics, I can tell you that much. Don’t care what they say, two seats ain’t two seats.

Actually, maybe Kellen Winslow can figure it out. Although maybe we shouldn’t really let him try in a museum piece.

How can BOSS TODD fix this thing? 

Gotta start with swapping the motor. 50 ccs ain’t shit. You gotta feel the thing rattling you to your soul in the driver’s seat. Stick a Kawasaki Ninja power plant in there and you’ll see some fuckin’ magic take place. Better yet, STICK A FUCKING ROCKET ENGINE IN IT.

Also, the bubble top is fucking dumb. If you wanna live a cartoon lifestyle, go be like all those acne-scarred thirtysomething pathetic dipshits who move to Japan and embarrass themselves in front of random women on the street before committing seppuku from the shame over their lack of social skills. Or, if that sucks ass to you (and it goddamn should), get out your fucking Sawzall and chop that shit right the fuck off and turn this shit into the convertible it was always meant to be. Feel the wind in your hair and balls rumbling over the blacktop. That’s the fuckin’ American dream right there.

BOSS TODD out, bitches. See you in hell.

[The Camaro burns out again, with “Breakin’ The Law” blaring once more.]

***

Information for this article taken from here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here. Banner image by The Maestro. 

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The Maestro
The Maestro is a mystical Canadian internet user and New England Patriots fan; when the weather is cooperative and the TV signal at his igloo is strong enough, he enjoys watching the NFL, the Ottawa Senators & REDBLACKS, and yelling into the abyss on Twitter. He is somehow allowed to teach music to high school students when he isn't in a blind rage about sports, and is also a known connoisseur of cheap beers across the Great White North.
https://www.doorfliesopen.com/index.php/author/the-maestro/
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[…] talked about small British cars very recently, having profiled the Peel Trident on this very same show. But there are so many others, from the Mini Cooper to the Hillman Imp to […]

King Hippo

Hippo was napping on 6 January, too. I am good at triggering breaking news. Or I just nap a whole lot

Rikki-Tikki-Deadly

Oh.

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SonOfSpam

lol “Stormy Daniels probe”

BugEyedBoo

.

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SonOfSpam

Need a “Trump Reacts Reasonably” post

Gumbygirl

Hahahahahaha fuck him!

LemonJello

Season kickoff for the based-balling?

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WCS

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BugEyedBoo

Getting my geek on: if the Holdo Maneuver (Laura Dern kamikaze) is a thing, why is that not a weapon? Laura Dern blew up an entire fleet doing that, including a Super Star Destroyer if I’m not mistaken. Why don’t I make a bunch of missiles that do nothing but jump to hyperspace right in your targets lap?

“Chill out, nerd, it’s all made up.” Yeah, but if you don’t follow the rules you’ve been playing by before, or the rules of common sense, you sap drama from your story. ex: the last couple of episodes of Rings of Power. The last two episodes of that show sucked ass.

Rikki-Tikki-Deadly

My take is that basically boils down to cost. Building hyperspace drives isn’t cheap – so every missile you make would be one less pilotable spaceship. Laura Dern’s kamikaze run was spectacularly costly for the Rebellion; that’s why you don’t normally see maneuvers like that – they don’t have the resources to “win” battles that way. And an X-Wing fighter pulling that maneuver would basically poke a little hole in a Star Destroyer; you need a somewhat comparable amount of mass to do serious damage.

Alternately…

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BugEyedBoo

Yeah, I think Xena is probably right.

Redshirt

(sigh) Alright. Let’s do this, I guess.

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BugEyedBoo

How about you and I get together next Purge, hunt down Bob Castellini, and beat him with a chain. Fuckin’ POS.

/not reasonable about this

WCS

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ballsofsteelandfury

This is wonderful! I bet you the popularity is due to Top Gear.

Last edited 1 year ago by ballsofsteelandfury
2Pack

Makes sense to me

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WCS

“I’ll have the same.”

— Lea Michele, looking at this upside down at a restaurant

Game Time Decision

this is the NFL meme’s version of the multiple Spiderman’s ( Spidermen?) pointing at each other

WCS

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Rikki-Tikki-Deadly

You know, Ram It is a much better song than The Superbowl Shuffle.

2Pack

What did the Raiders call their little rap ditty?

Rikki-Tikki-Deadly

I’m not sure which one you mean. There’s this song which I associate with the franchise, though it’s hardly “rap”.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tmhp_NEH12Y

Gumbygirl

The Brits love their weird little three wheelers. I remember a clown car that was popular when we were there, called a Robin Reliant. Looked dangerously tippy to me, unsafe at any speed.

Sharkbait
Last edited 1 year ago by Sharkbait
Gumbygirl

See what I mean? Fuck that!

BugEyedBoo

I’m not sure if I think these are the coolest things ever, the dumbest things ever, or both simultaneously. I know if I hit the $1B lottery, I’d buy one.

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Gumbygirl

Is that one of those Can Am’s? It seems more stable to have the two wheels in the front. Gumby wants one of those Moko’s. Looks like a golf cart to me.

Gumbygirl

Moke, not Moko.

BugEyedBoo

Polaris Sidewinder. There are a couple here in Columbus that come out when it gets warm. Can-am below:

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BugEyedBoo

And IIRC, there was a Top Gear where they were driving a Vette, a Challenger, and I want to say a Cadillac. They had a routine where James May was playing a slot machine trying to win a Can Am – he would rather drive that POS than the Cadillac.

BugEyedBoo

And while we’re on weird motorcycles, there’s one of these in town too. Yamaha Niken.

yamaha_niken_2019_0000.jpg
Horatio Cornblower

Aaron Judge is now on pace for 648 home runs.

Rikki-Tikki-Deadly

I’ll take the under on that.

Horatio Cornblower

Bold move. let’s see how you feel about Josh Donaldson on pace to strike-out 648 times.

Rikki-Tikki-Deadly

Josh Donaldson (artist’s conception):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKMYs-9LW2w

Rikki-Tikki-Deadly

The first guy who figures it out is getting a goddamn Nobel Prize for physics, I can tell you that much.

[proudly holds up Nobel Prize medal] – Horatio’s Dwarf, after next year’s ceremony

Horatio Cornblower

We get a cut of the prize money.

LemonJello

“Stand up so we can all get a look…oh, shit. Sourry!”

2Pack

Forerunner of the micro cars that are fairly popular in the cities here. I call them kiddie cars, they have the small license plates like mopeds. 2 stroke 50-75 cc turds that I really hate being behind. Very popular with older folks, may have something to do with failing eyesight effecting the ability to get a real automobile license.

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blaxabbath

What kind of limited license allows you to drive an aluminum casket on the roadway? I feel one of these bitches requires a specific endorsement in addition to having a real license.

Gumbygirl

People park those head in, instead of parallel. We saw a bunch of guys pick one up and move it down the street in Rome, I guess it was a prank? We didn’t stay to see the victim come out to find their car gone.

Rikki-Tikki-Deadly

Are you sure you’re not just thinking of the Mentos commercial?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJWemPyCHB8

Gumbygirl

Ha, nope! Teeny little clown cars in Italy.

Horatio Cornblower

I may be in the minority here, (although as a straight middle-aged white male I if course act like I’m in the minority in this strange and frightening new America that I don’t understand), but Happy Opening Day to all who celebrate.

The rest of you heathens can burn in Hell.

yeah right

Wooooo!

BrettFavresColonoscopy

Dansby Swanson sounds like a fictional character from a Jane Austen novel.

WCS

Dansby Swanson is the rich kid antagonist in an ’80s rom-com.

Rikki-Tikki-Deadly

Dansby Swanson is the actual name of one of Tucker Carlson’s children.

(not really, but it’s entirely plausible)

Rikki-Tikki-Deadly

Oh, I should mention that anyone who is on T-Mobile can get a free year of MLB tv.

“Even if you hate baseball, you’d be crazy not to take this deal.”

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WCS

(stares at three complete digits sadly)

— Jason P-P, currently parts unknown

BrettFavresColonoscopy

A bunch of his parts have been in parts unknown for a long time.

Brick Meathook

The jet car video needed to end with a ball of flame off in the distance, Road Runner style.

blaxabbath

“I love these old muscle cars!”

-Prius Drivers

Game Time Decision

this car needs three more pointy things on the front to be a proper trident.
This car is also recommended by 4 out of 5 dentists

Horatio Cornblower

Makes sense, since there are 5 dentists in the entire British Isles

blaxabbath

More points!

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Sharkbait

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Horatio Cornblower

For no reason at all the line from that Hold Steady song about college girls gone bad comes to mind. “Getting railed behind dumpsters behind townie bars.” I’m sure it’s just a coincidence.

BugEyedBoo

Garsh!

BrettFavresColonoscopy

More like the Isle of Little Men, amirite?

/shows self out
//can’t get away at 28mph
///is savagely beaten