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The Reliant 3/25 family is so well-known in the UK that the impact of the original Regal three-wheeler is frequently overlooked. Today they are chiefly spotted at car shows or in the background of 1950s and 1960s British film, but this was the vehicle that helped to transform the marque’s image.

The prototype Regal made its bow at the 1951 Cycle and Motor Show, and a modified production version in 1952. Exports began in December of that year, with home market sales commencing in early 1953. The owner gained a Reliant powered by a 747cc side-valve engine (based on the Austin Seven unit) and with an ash-framed aluminium body attached to a steel box-section chassis. The standard equipment included Perspex side-screens and a single windscreen wiper. Access to the boot was via the rear seat, as there was no outer lid.

The Regal may appear beyond Spartan to a 2020-vintage motorist, but it is too easy to forget that many small four-wheel cars of the early 1950s were not exactly the last word in luxury. For more evidence, take a look at the specifications of the early Standard Eight or the Ford Popular 103E. Reliant also possessed a strong-customer base from nearly twenty years of trading and the Regal was ideal for a motorcycle owner who now sought greater weather protection.

Reliant claimed their new model offered accommodation for four adults, but the rear-seat occupants needed to be of Ronnie Corbett/Charlie Drake stature. However, Reliant was more comfortable than a side-car combination and a top speed of 50 mph was suitable for most B-roads. The Motor Cycle thought the Regal had ‘a great future as an inexpensive, economical transport for a family man priced as it is at £362 9s 2d (including purchase tax)’.

During 1953 Reliant improved the driver’s seat as some owners complained they could feel the bars underneath the cushion. 1954 saw the launch of the Mk. II in both convertible and van forms, the latter anticipating the company’s future direction, as it was the first Reliant to employ GRP in its construction. There was also more cabin space, but some drivers grumbled that the trafficators were so poorly located on the front wings they were invisible to other road users.

When Commercial Motor of 5^th August 1955 tested the Van, the writer noted ‘The unladen weight of under 8 cwt., has, however, not been achieved without introducing certain utility measures’.  The crash-type four-speed gearbox was an anachronism even in the mid-1950s, but ‘easy changes are possible and double de-clutching is necessary only when changing down’. However, the report bemoaned the ‘inadequate ventilation provided by the flexible side-screens’ which also prevented the scribe ‘from giving hand signals’.

In that same year, the Regal convertible was available with a detachable hardtop, but this was just a prelude to the radical Mk. III of 1956. Reliant became the first motor-manufacturer in Europe to mass-produce a vehicle with an all-fibreglass body. At the same time, the new front end replicated the appearance of a typical medium-sized car of that period. The latest Regal also boasted flashing indicators, synchromesh on the top three gears and sliding windows. The bodywork not only looked less utilitarian than its predecessors, it was also more comfortable, being six inches wider than the Mk. II. However, one essential optional extra was a spare wheel!

The Motor Cycle stated the Mk. III was the ‘Aristocrat of the three-wheeled world’. Compared with the rival Bond Minicar Mark E, the latest Regal seemed less of a cyclecar and more of a scaled-down four-wheeler. One advertisement memorably promoted the Mk. III thus – ‘Who takes your children to school? Who carries home that heavy shopping? Your wife, no doubt - but not in your car’.

The obvious solution was to give your other half the keys to the Morris Minor 1000 or Hillman Minx.  But Reliant had a better idea - ‘Give her a second thought - buy a second car that will do 50 miles per gallon, and yet costs only £5 per year in tax’. Equally importantly, it was ‘Very safe to drive and easy for parking’.

CM of 30^th May 1958 tested the Van and they found that ‘no special driving techniques have to be used when handling this three-wheeler: in fact, the Reliant corners as well as, if not better than, most four-wheeled vans of its size. At first the steering feels direct, but this effect soon wears off’.

Two years later, the Mk. VI offered a 12-volt electrical system and drop window glasses, but the Mk. V of June 1959 represented a more significant change. The convertible option was sadly dropped, and the doors reverted to sliding panes but, for the first time on a Reliant three-wheeler, there was an opening boot while the fascia was now clad in a fake-wood veneer. There was also, at long last, a second windscreen wiper as standard.

Reliant proclaimed the Mk. V was ‘Car transport for motorcycle cost’ and ‘Family Motoring on three wheels’. The top speed was 65 mph and, despite the folklore, there was never any restriction on driving such a vehicle on a motorway. Whether you actually wanted to take your new Regal for a spin along the recently opened M1, dicing with various Ford Zodiacs and Vauxhall Crestas, was entirely another matter.

1960 saw the introduction of the Mk. VI, with a new fascia and windscreen. It was to be the last of the original Regals and the last Reliant to employ the side-valve engine. One publicity campaign featured an ultra-Brylcreemed salesman urging a Ton-Up Boy to ‘Step up to and into a Reliant’. Yes, after calling TAMworth 3761 for details of a Regal, even the most ardent Gene Vincent fan would come to appreciate a ‘full four-seater’ with ‘holiday luggage space’.

The replacement 3/25 of October 1962 was a vastly different form of three-wheeler but one that built on the success of the previous eleven years. Reliant once claimed that the original Regal gave the motorist ‘luxury comfort at running costs you can afford’. And in comparison with the average BSA 750 Four Sidecar Outfit, this was no ideal marketing phrase.

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