Three-wheeler's Like A Rat Out Of Hell

You'll never see another car like this one! It's called the Reliant Rodent, it cost £600 to build and it looks like an extra from a Flash Gordon film. The three-wheeler is based on the defunct British firm's Robin and is the creation of Malcolm Green, a sheet-metal worker at a firm that supplies suspension parts to Formula One teams.

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17th March 2004

He came up with the idea after visiting a motorcycle show called the Bulldog Bash, held annually near Stratford-upon-Avon in Warks. Malcolm told us: "I tried to build a trike from a different angle. I did it in my garden shed and I reckon it took 1,000 hours. I get a few stares from people when I'm out in it." Power comes from a rear-mounted Renault 5 engine. Under the polished aluminium bodyshell is a tubular spaceframe chassis, and there is even a roll-hoop behind the driver's seat in case of accidents.

But Malcolm, who lives in Woodfood Halse in Northants, explained that he isn't resting on his laurels now the car is finished. "I'm thinking about putting a Renault 5 GT Turbo engine into it, but I'm also working on a new vehicle. It's only on paper at the moment, but it would be powered by a bike motor rather than a car one," he said.