I Crashed the World's Smallest Car

The Smallest Car in the World: The Peel P50

Kind: captions

Language: en

Oh my God! Yeah, that happened! I flipped my first car, and everything after this was written before I did that. This is the smallest and probably most terrifying car in the world. Not only that, it's one of the most expensive cars in the world per pound. So why does it exist? What is it for?

All right, let's take a look at this little beast. The Peel P50 was debuted at the 1962 Earls Court Motorcycle Show in England and originally sold for 199 British pounds, which translates to about $5,000 U.S. dollars today. But, it didn't sell that well – no more than 50 of the cars were made, and only 27 are known to exist today.

The Peel P50 has a 49cc single overhead camshaft scooter engine in it, which is still too much output for its small size. The output is 3.5 horsepower and two whole pound feet of torque. And if you're not impressed yet, buckle up – the top speed of this car is 28 miles per hour.

But what really makes this car special? Well, it's small enough to fit one person and a bag inside. But, be careful – this single seat is literally patio furniture and doesn't give you any sense of safety when you roll it over.

The interior is not exactly spacious either. I'm honestly feeling kind of claustrophobic. It's like a tiny tractor. There's not really much to talk about in this interior. But, there is a little tinny speedometer right here that goes up to 160 kilometers per hour. Even though this car only goes 45 kilometers per hour.

Despite everything, this is still my favorite part of the episode. Let's start this little up – my foot! (laughing) It still sounds pretty sick. It's still a car and I still like it. Even though it feels like I'm driving a busthat is too small for one man.

But here's the thing – this car that tried to kill me isn't even actually a real P50, it's a replica. Peel Engineering was resurrected in 2010 with new body types, models, and updated engines. The base model P50 is available for around $10,000, and it comes with a 49cc engine and different color options and custom liveries.

There are also other trim levels of the P50 available, including an all-electric version. And if this isn't enough of a deathtrap, you can get the 125GT, the hot rod of the Peel world. The GT Spider is Peel's flagship model, and it costs over $22,000 by weight – that means you're paying $95 per pound for a convertible version of this car.

Put that into perspective: a brand new 600 horsepower Lamborghini Urus costs $41 per pound, and it won't flip and hurt your arm. The Peel P50 definitely isn't a value play. It definitely isn't safe, either. But it's cute and it's unique and it can fit a surprisingly tall human in it.

You can even buy one without an engine, so you can do the motorswap of your dreams. Just in case having a three-wheeled super dangerous but really slow and goofy-looking baby magnet isn't enough for you. This thing is enough for me.