FIND THE LATEST NEWS UPDATED EVERY DAY AT BROOKLYNPAPER.COM
June 7–13, 2019
Including Brooklyn Courier, Carroll Gardens-Cobble Hill Courier, Brooklyn Heights Courier, & Williamsburg Courier
ROLLING ALSO SERVING PROSPECT HEIGHTS, WINDSOR TERRACE, KENSINGTON,SALE AND GOWANUS
Relic of British automotive history hits the market in Park Slope
CAR SHOW: Former Chip Shop owner and Park Slope resident Chris Sell poses with the iconic Union Jack-branded Reliant Robin. Photo by Trey Pentecost
model in the country,” he said.
“Wherever you are, you’ll get so
much attention.”
The Reliant Motor Company
introduced drivers to the Robin
in cheery 1973, where it’s diminutive
750-cc engine — later
upgraded to 850 cc — made the
distinctly British mini an attractive
purchase for motorists
during the 1970s oil crisis.
Of course, the Robin’s most
distinctive fl aw — its single
front tire — gave the vehicle a
reputation as a rolling death
trap, and, while the gas-powered
trike would eventually prove an
evolutionary dead end in terms
of automotive mechanics, it
would earn an enduring legacy
as a staple of English comedy.
The legendary British jester
Rowan Atkinson featured a
close relative of the Robin, the
three-wheeled Reliant Regal
Supervan III, as a recurring
character on his 90s sitcom,
“Mr Bean,” in which the show’s
namesake protagonist routinely
feuded with the light-blue
trike, usually rolling the car be-
BY COLIN MIXSON
It’s the deadliest thing to come
out of England since the Black
Plague, and it can be yours for
only $5,000!
A Park Slope man is looking
to sell his 1982 Reliant Robin, a
unique and truly ridiculous experiment
in British car manufacturing,
which features only
one front wheel and virtually
no guarantee of safety.
“It’s more unstable than my
mother was,” said Ninth Street
resident Chris Sell, “and that’s
saying something!”
Sell imported his outrageous
three-wheeled curiosity
as an advertisement for his Atlantic
Avenue British food restaurant
Chip Shop in 2011, and
many Park Slope residents will
recognize the car as much by its
bold Union Jack paint job, as by
its odd compliment of tires.
But Sell, who was forced to
close Chip Shop in December
last year, said he’s now eager
to fi nd another small business
owner to purchase his Robin
as a roving billboard for their
shop, promising there’s no
other car like it in the country.
“There’s only one of this Continued on page 18
Vol. 39 No. 23 UPDATED EVERY DAY AT BROOKLYNPAPER.COM
/BROOKLYNPAPER.COM
/BROOKLYNPAPER.COM