Reliant Rebel1964–1974

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FactRoyal Mail nearly chose the Reliant Rebel van to replace its ageing Morris fleet, running a trial of about ten of them before the idea went no further.

The Reliant Rebel is a small four-wheeled economy car produced by Reliant from 1964 to 1974 (about 2,600 made), designed as a market test to push Reliant beyond three-wheelers; marketed as the smart alternative with a rust-free glass-fibre body, a robust chassis and frugal fuel economy, as a niche rival to the Austin Mini and Hillman Imp, in saloon, estate and van variants. It was the brainchild of managing director Ray Wiggin, who believed people would drive small four-wheeled cars in future and the microcar/three-wheeler segment would die; engineers built a rolling chassis from a cut-and-welded Regal 3/25 chassis, with front suspension from the Triumph Herald, brakes from the Triumph Courier van and the steering box from the Standard 10. It launched in October 1964 as a saloon with the Regal 3/25's 598 cc engine, tuned to 28 horsepower (4 more than the Regal's) by skimming the head and fitting larger valves because the car felt sluggish under its extra weight, in only about 100 originally built in two batches (mostly regarded as pre-production). After the 70 mph motorway limit made anything slower seem slow, Reliant enlarged the engine to 701 cc and 31 hp, first shown as the Rebel 700 at the October 1967 London Motor Show, for a top speed of 70 mph (also fitted to the Regal as the 3/30). The 750, introduced in October 1972 with the new 748 cc engine, Robin-derived rear lights and gearbox and radiator, and 35 hp, was the most popular Rebel with an 80 mph top speed and up to 65 mpg. A Rebel 1600 GT prototype (FW6, an 80 hp Ford Crossflow 1599 cc from the Cortina 1600E) was never put into production because it out-performed the Scimitar GT.