When Raliegh decided to cease production of their three wheeler Carry All the former works manager Mr T.L. Williams and a colleague Mr E.S. Thompson, began planning their own vehicle. The first vehicle was built in 1934 in Mr. Williams home at Kettlebrook, Tamworth along the lines of the Raliegh.
From building vehicles at home the work moved to a disused bus depot on Watling Street in Fazeley.[1] June 3rd 1935, saw delivery of the first Reliant. Powered by a single cylinder air cooled 600cc J.A.P. engine, the driver sat centrally the vehicle astride the engine, much like a motorcyclist. The single cylinder engine left the Reliant underpowered. March 1936 saw an update to a twin cylinder water-cooled J.A.P. engine and an increase to 8 cwt (407kg) gross vehicle weight (gvw).
In 1952 a four-seat car version was launched, initially with an aluminium body, but panel by panel the company substituted glassfibre, as the company's understanding of the material improved and the price of aluminium increased. By 1956 the bodywork of the (by now) Mark 3 version of the Reliant Regal had changed completely to glass fibre. The company is notable for building composite-bodied specialist vehicles, such as the sports cars Reliant Scimitar (including the upmarket sports estate Scimitar GTE, owned by Princess Anne) and Reliant Sabre; and the infamous three-wheeled Reliant Regal, Reliant Robin and Reliant Rialto economy cars.
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