Do you want to become a £6k Raleigh driver?
MILLIONS of people will have ridden a Raleigh bike but very few will have driven one of its cars.
However, now’s your chance, as an example of the famous British firm’s foray into the motoring world is up for sale.
This 1934 three-wheeler Safety Seven Light Car has a petrol 742cc V-twin engine developing 7bhp (hence the name) and, just like the famous bicycles, a Sturmey-Archer gearbox – driving the rear wheels.
It could carry four people and had a reported top speed of 55mph. Interestingly, while the Raleigh wasn’t a huge success, it paved the way for the famous Reliant.
Chief designer Tom Williams took over the remaining equipment to found Reliant – he used a name starting with an R as lots of the parts were stamped with that letter.
With only five owners, the sale Raleigh model was extensively restored 17 years ago and is said to be in excellent working and driving condition.
It is finished in an authentic-looking racing green, with a red vinyl interior and original instrument dials on the dash that show less than 42,000 miles on the clock, while paperwork indicates it is in good order.
Twist-and-pull knobs operate all the controls and there is a floor push-button to fire up the electric starter (groundbreaking at the time) for the powertrain – ensuring it’s a historic hoot to drive.
A diamond-shaped grille badge and elegant tapering spars on the windscreen give it kerbside appeal, as do air-cooling louvres stamped into the engine cover and elegantly curved rear wheel arches.
Piloting this tiny trike, weighing well under half a ton, is a giggle so long as you don’t expect to keep pace with modern traffic, says the seller.
The Car & Classic online auction for the Raleigh is running for seven days from today and it seems an absolute steal as it is likely to sell for about £6000.
A spokesman said: “It offers a unique slice of pre-war British quirkiness that you can’t help but admire.”