Peel P50: tiny car, big investment

SUPPOSE you landed a spot on business-savvy BBC show Dragon's Den. Given five smirking tycoons and an audience of millions, what would you pitch?

So far the series has put serious amounts of cash behind a brand of spicy sauce, a treadmill for dogs, an indie band and a teddy bear that doubles up as an MP3 player, so they're not averse to making the occasional odd investment. But a four-ft-long car last made on the Isle of Man over forty years ago? Thanks to James Caan, the Peel is making a comeback!

Most peoples' experience of this miniscule motor is still the slightly ridiculous Top Gear episode from a couple of years ago, shown below, when all 6 ft 5 of Jeremy Clarkson squeezed himself in for a quick spin around the BBC News offices in London. He jokingly said it was the future, but James Caan is serious enough to stack a whopping £80,000 in its favour.

Both the Peel P50 and the Trident, were powered by ancient moped engines when they first appeared in the early Sixties but when it's given the Dragon's Den treatment it'll be propelled along by an eco-friendly electric unit and cost around £8,000, which is about the same as you'd pay for the four-seat treatment you'll get in a Fiat Panda. But no matter how hard you try, you can't get a Fiat Panda into an elevator, and that's the P50's party trick.

Regular readers will already know I'm a big fan of fun little cars; along with owning an original Mini, I've admired the clever packaging of Toyota's tiny IQ since it was launched last year, and the Gulliver's World proportions of the Peel just take things to a surreal new level. In much the same way as you want a phone that fits in your pocket, you know you want a car you can leave in that cupboard under the stairs at night.

Would I buy one? Absolutely, although Champion Media Group might have to take a more liberal look at its car parking policy if I do. I'd leave mine next to my desk in the newsroom.