During a time of deep recession in 1970s Britain, this stylish little car from Tamworth became a massive hit, boasting low fuel consumption and cheap tax. From its beginnings in 1973 to its demise almost thirty years later, Giles Chapman traces the colourful history of the most famous and iconic three-wheeled car in Britain.

For almost 30 years, the Reliant Robin was a familiar fixture on the country's roadscape, an object of amusement to those who didn't understand its ultra-thrifty ways, and pride to the thousands who did. Being a "tricycle," it enjoyed motorbike levels of road tax, and to keep it within strict weight guidelines, the body was of lightweight glassfibre. Allied to a light and efficient four-cylinder engine made entirely of aluminum, this made the Robin extremely frugal, yet still nippy enough to mix it with modern traffic. The car was a massive hit, and Reliant couldn't make them fast enough, until a culture of more sophisticated car buyers, and a dwindling of the hard-working folk in the traditional heavy industries of mining and steel, saw it go into eventual decline.