The Last Reliant Robin - The Breakdown EP5
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- Опубліковано 31 лип 2024
- We invited Andy Plumb to show off his Reliant Robin and tell us about his time designing the last Robin.
The Reliant Robin was a British icon and was on the roads for over 40 years. - Авто та транспорт
Thankyou for having me, the car and my book. It is the 50th anniversary of the Robin this year, so perfect timing too. The team made me very welcome, and the filming was a pleasure, thankyou!
This was fascinating - as a car designer myself, I can understand all the trials and tribulations of the process. Nice pre - Photo Shop sketches, by the way! Did you study ID at the Lanch?
The color really works, as others have commented it's very "Reliant", referencing the Bug. Good job!
@@hughrobinson9978 Yes I graduated from Coventry Uni in 1994 on the ID course. The photoshop sketches are retrospective- I was using it in 1997 but just beginning to learn it really..
IMO the original Ogle designed Robin was by far the best looking, but your facelift was a big improvement on the later shape.
Again IMO, it's rare that a facelift improves the look of a car, so well done.
Why did Reliant abandon the Ogle shape do you know?
It’s such a beautiful car. I love it.
@@3wheeler1000 Did the Coventry ID Transportation course myself - a bit earlier than you though!
The colour scheme is spot on really stands out , just like it did on the old Bug.
Great to see someone that really loves his car
Greetings from Tamworth. My friends live in Robin Close
It's such a shame that reliant couldn't hang on a bit longer. With all that experience of fibre glass body shells they were the perfect company to develope ultra light micro city cars for the modern era. With a bit of investment and a licensed kei car drive train from Suzuki or whoever they could have been the British smart car. Later an electric variant. If they could have priced matched a (short range) electric Bond Bug with the Geewiz just maybe you'd see them all over central London...
There's a documentary here on Reliant a couple years before this model came out. A rich bloke had bought the company because they were bankrupt, and one of the first things he discovered is they were making fibreglass bodies as if it was a hobby in the garage. They didn't have any tools and it took ages, and they refused to believe him when he said he'd visited a boat company that would do it in a fraction of the time with modern equipment. On the whole the factory looked like it hadn't been updated in decades.
When they stopped making their own cars they moved to importing french microcars. Ready made, no design or manufacturing needed.
@@kyle8952Yes I remember the doc & the buyer was ex' Jaguar - Johnathon Haynes. The traditional method of hand laying the bodies won out though - I don't think the less labour intense method produced the same quality.
@@kyle8952 Yes, I worked there at that time. They had been thoroghly done over by the receivers in the past, and left with nothing. This was the failed attempt to rescue the company. This Robin was actually produced at Fletchers Boats like all Mk3s.
@@kyle8952They imported 50cc Piaggio Apes that could be driven by 16 year olds unaccompanied.
I was a bit surprised that they didn't sell better than they did.
nice to see a car that had a valid place in the market, at the time; taken seriously
I had a 1975 Robin in orange and a 1979 Kitten in white. Two of my favourite cars.
My grandad had Robins right up to the end of production. Fond memories from my childhood 😊
I can remember as a child (pre 1982), we had a Reliant dealer within walking distance, and I can remember saying to my mum I loved the Kitten. Great video 😀
Nice car..nice video..excellent state of the car...this and the Regal 21 E are my favorite
Nice one Andy 👍
My dad owned reliants for about 45 years, great little cars.
First car i got to drive (well steer) was my dad's reliant van I was about 7 years old at the time.
The closest to a hot hatch by reliant lol orange was a good chose
Finally a close look at your Robin. Inspirational for me.
I owned both a Robin and Rialto. Great little cars.
i owned a reliant rialto in 1988 to 1990, lots of fun, I am sure i got about 90 out of it! i know cuz i was flying down to fast lane on the M1!!
Only got rid of it, cuz the gearbox was totally knackered!!
FWIU toward the end what happened was that people weren't getting motorcycle licenses first anymore so the USP became irrelevant, especially since you could always get a real car for the same money - the 1930s Raleigh car cost 105 GBP at a time when the Ford 8Y started at an even 100, and the last one probably didn't cost much, if any, less than the Corsa B whose headlights it used.
The early postwar "Export or Die" years must have been lean for a design built to get around UK-specific tax and registration loopholes, too, although LHD examples of late models exist.
Robins, Foxes, and Ants were made in Greece under licence by Mebea. There are Reliants in the Netherlands too; presumably to satisfy some Dutch licencing regulations.
My late father drove these he went from a norton 88 to a regal as my mum was expecting. the last one he had was a blue v reg robin sunroof and stainless steel exhaust i remember a holiday in cornwall from kent me my two sisters on the back seat and my little bro sitting on a tool box in the the boot area also towing a small box trailer happy memories
The way things are going I'm sure there'd be a future for Reliants once again.
Cool
That’s a great looking car.
Cool story, ironic little cars 👍
A most enjoyable watch.
Nice!
Ah the memories my brother had the van in yellow in the 1960's, and later in the 1980's he had a saloon. I always loved the sporty sound that came from the exhaust.
Best job I ever had working in the body shop but measured day work was bought in and costs escalated as it was piecework before
There is aguy near me who owns some customised Reliants , wide wheels spoiler etc.
A guy at work sold me a 850 van, robin , failed mot , came back from slough on m4 got the thing up to 105 mph and still going, but only had 2 brakes so backed off!!
Perfect city car good mpg easey to park lets say your not going fast in a city
Thaks for releasing this video great to see this peice of history ! First doughnut medias video day before and now this about the robin reliant and befor that i been following the American , youtuber
Aging Wheels ,mone of my favorit and i think he has the only one whit this new Body style he claims is the only one in The US fun videos i recommend watching: I just love learning about all this stuff great video this
Tipping Point, that's a good title for a book on this unstable looking thing
I. Had a bond. Bug 1970. And. The. Robin
Please contact Robert Dunn of Aging Wheels. He has the only Reliant Robin in the USA. Or so we think. I know he definitely has some questions about it lol
Hi great video I have some 20 mm spacers and mini silverlight alloys can I fit 165 on instead of 145 buddy or would they rub
If you feel the front end starting to lift over 70 mph, wouldn't a chin spoiler make sense? That's a relatively low speed to begin experiencing this and the problem is obviously aerodynamic.
Seems they would have been an awesome basis for a small electric car, with the batteries and motors available today. And lighting, plastics, carbon, etc....
We need a modern equivalent to the Reliant, a cheap fibreglass electric vehicle but maybe not 3 wheels🤔
If it's limited to 28mph it can be a 3 wheeler. With batteries placed as the centre of mass and independent suspension it would be even more stable.
They lost an opportunity that was one of the sleekest Econo box designs ever if it had four wheels instead of the goofy three-wheeler format they could have taken on the rabbit and the escort and Fiat and everybody with the actual car version of this
Reliant made the 4 wheeled Robin. The Reliant kitten in 1975 and the Reliant scimitar, the Fox. Reliant did try that.
I had reliant regale 21e 600cc with 700cc head and pet pistons ie racing pistons from Ford. At 80 mpg the doors started opening at the hinge side and you could see outside. Holy crap.😬
Such a misunderstood car - I think almost as related to todays needs as when first conceived!
Almost a car.
It is more than most cars.
He did a good job, pity he's known for nothing else, good stylist