Reliant Motor Company.

The Reliant Robin.

Reliant Robin (1973 - 1981)

The Reliant Robin was first introduced in November 1973. Designed by Ogle Design Ltd (under the code name TW8) the Robin was powered by a water cooled four-cylinder 750cc engine that yielded 32 bhp. The vehicle had a complete glass-fibre body attached to a box steel chassis and featured a rear opening window that was soon a trend to be used on cars world wide. This allowed the Robin to make full use of its interior as luggage space and with the rear seats folded down would have a loading capacity of 30 cubic feet. With the rear seats in use there was a loading capacity of 8.5 cubic feet behind them. The Robin came in several variations, The Standard Robin, The Super Robin, The Robin Estate and the Robin Van. The Super version featured more instruments on the dashboard than most 4-wheelers. The Robin was also to receive a further boost when HRH The Princess Anne brought a Robin Super Saloon when she was living at Sandhurst Royal Academy.

In 1975 the Robin received a few minor changes in its body work but the biggest change was that it was now powered by an uprated 850cc engine which increased the power to 40 bhp and gave a top speed of 85 mph with a 0 - 60mph time of 16.1 seconds. The engine also featured a new SU type carburetor which replaced the old Zenith type. 

The Reliant Robin became one of the most famous 3-wheelers in the UK and was produced in its thousands and shipped World wide until 1981 when; in this form, it was replaced by the Reliant Rialto.

Reliant Robin (1989 - 2001)

Whether it was because due to the popularity of the Reliant Robin that all Reliant 3-wheelers became known as Robins or to try and rekindle the success of the past, Reliant brought back the Reliant Robin in 1989 with a completely new look to it. The Robin featured a new glass-fibre body that was now attached to a galvanised chassis and numerous other changes that included a single central windscreen wiper.  The loading area had now also been taken one step further with a complete hatch that lifted at the rear of the vehicle and with the van version offers up a loading capacity of 40 cubic feet.  Powered by Reliant's water cooled aluminium 850cc engine the vehicle had good performance without sacrificing fuel economy.

In 1998 just before closing down their Tamworth plant Reliant produced a Commemorative edition Reliant Robin that marked the last 50 cars that were made at the Tamworth plant. Model number 1 was fully lined in leather and each model contained a commemorative plaque on the dashboad.

In 1999 a new  Reliant Robin Hatchback was launched to bring the Reliant Robin into the new Millennium. The 1999 Robin featured a complete new front end with tear drop style headlamps, new doors and a new tail gate. Still powered by the aluminium 850cc engine, it was said to give a fuel consumption from 60 - 100 mpg. These Robins featured matching deep pile carpets and trim, RDS radio cassette, chrome door handles, stainless steel exhaust, fog lights and alloy wheels.

Following an announcement on the 26th September 2000, no more Reliant 3-wheelers were made after February 2001. Reliant manufactured 65 Special Edition Robins (Robin 65) as a tribute to 65 years of 3-wheeler production.  The Robin 65 featured leather trim, a walnut dashboard, fog lamps, alloy wheels, stainless steel exhaust and has a numbered plaque attached to the centre of the dashboard. The last Reliant Robin was collected by its owner on February 14th 2001 and was a first prize in a competition run by the Sun Newspaper.

Reliant Robin BN-1 (2001- 2002)

On April 30th 2001, B&N Plastics started to remake the Reliant Robin under licence to Reliant. Re-badged as the Reliant Robin BN-1 the Robin BN-1 is based upon the specification of the Robin 65 and has many changes that include re-engineered gearbox and axle, new dashboard and interior. At the vehicles launch in 12th July 2001 a Robin BN-2 was also announced that featured light reactive paint and is the first Reliant Robin in history to have electric windows and CD player as standard. Due to various problems production was put on hold in October 2002.

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The 1973 Reliant Super Robin. (This was my Robin that sadly met its end in a motor accident, 1992)

A 1978 Reliant Robin Estate. (My thanks to David Farrant for allowing me to use this picture)

The 1993 Reliant Robin fresh off the Assembly line.

The 1999 Reliant Robin. (My thanks to Malcolm Norris for allowing me to use this picture from his web site.)

The 2000 Reliant Robin 65.

The 2001 Reliant Robin BN-1

Go to Reliant Rialto