0 WHAT IS THE WORLD'S SMALLEST PRODUCTION CAR EVER MADE?

No, it's not the Mini Cooper!

The Mini Cooper is a small, front-wheel drive city car from BMW's MINI automotive brand.

The Mini is a small car that was made by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and its successors from 1959 until 2000. The original is considered a British icon of the 1960s, and its space-saving front-wheel-drive layout (which allowed 80% of the area of the car's floorpan to be used for passengers and luggage) influenced a generation of car-makers. The vehicle is in some ways considered the British equivalent to its German contemporary, the Volkswagen Beetle, which enjoyed similar popularity in North America. In 1999 the Mini was voted the second most influential car of the 20th century, behind the Ford Model T.

Coming in at over 12 ft, in length, 5.5 ft in width and 4ft. 6 inches in height and weighing in at roughly 2,000 lbs., this 'little' car is nowhere close to being the smallest car ever in production!

No, it's not the Toyota iQ!

The Toyota iQ is a city car first shown to the public at the March 2008 Geneva Auto Show, with Japanese sales having begun in October 2008 and European sales in January 2009. The production iQ followed a concept vehicle presented at the 2007 Frankfurt Auto Show. A North American version of the iQ, branded as the Scion iQ, is slated for release in the U.S. beginning in October 2011 with the West Coast states and Canada.

The name iQ, an initialism of the term intelligence quotient, recalls a competitor, the Smart Fortwo. According to Toyota, the i stands for "individuality" "innovation" and "intelligence", while the Q stands for "quality" and points to the iQ's "cubic" shape. It was Japanese Car of the Year for 2008.

The iQ was designed at the Toyota European Design and Development (Toyota ED²) studio in Nice, France.

At just under 10 feet (3 meters) long and about 5 feet 6 inches (1.7 meters) wide, the iQ is not the smallest and surely not the lightest car ever in production, weighing in at 860 kgs (1,896 lbs.)

No, It's not the Smart Fortwo!

The Smart Fortwo is a rear-engined two-seater city car manufactured by Smart GmbH, introduced at the 1998 Paris Motor Show as the Smart City Coupé, and currently in its second generation. The name refers to its seat capacity.

The Smart Fortwo is a little more than 2.5 meters (8 feet) long, less than 1.5 meters (5 feet) wide and about 1.5 meters (5 feet) tall and weighs in around 730 kgs (1,600 lbs).

No, It's not the Tata Nano!

The Tata Nano is a city car manufactured by Tata Motors. One of the smallest as well as lowest powered (35ps) cars in the world, it was designed to be the cheapest car in India aimed mainly at the lowest price segment in the Indian domestic market.

The Nano sold in India is a 624cc, rear-engine (for a less complex and hence cheaper transmission), manual transmission, four-passenger, four-door car. The car lacks power steering and safety features like air-bags and ABS.

The Nano measuring around 3.1 meters (10 feet) long and 1.6 meters (5 feet) tall, and weighing in between 600 kg (1,300 lb)–635 kg (1,400 lb) is small, but not the smallest.

No, it's not the G-Wiz!

The REVAi, known as G-Wiz in the UK, is a small micro electric car, made by the Indian manufacturer REVA Electric Car Company since 2001. The REVA have sold more than 4,000 vehicles worldwide by March 2011 and is available in 26 countries.

This car is a small 3-door hatchback measuring 2.6 m (8 ft 6 in) long, 1.3 m (4 ft 3 in) wide and 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) high. The car can accommodate two adults in the front and two children in the rear. The back seats can fold down to provide cargo space. The maximum passenger and cargo weight is 270 kgs (600 lbs).

The lightest version of the G-Wiz weighs in at 565 kgs (1,250 lbs). Small, yes, but still not the smallest or lightest car ever in production, by any means.

It's not even the Peel Trident!

The Peel Trident was the second three-wheeled microcar made by the Peel Engineering Company on the Isle of Man.  It was manufactured in 1965 and 1966. The Trident featured a clear bubble top and either two seats or one seat with a detachable shopping basket.

This car is 72 ins (1,829 mm) long and 42 ins (1,067 mm) wide, with a weight of 198 lbs (90 kgs).

Approx. 82 tridents were built from December 1964 to December 1966.  (A few tridents were fitted with an optional shopping basket in place of the passenger seat - this allowed a 16 year old learner driver to drive alone).

198 lbs. people!  And it's still not the smallest!

The World's Smallest Car Ever in Production Goes to the...

Peel P50!

The Peel P50 is a three-wheeled microcar originally manufactured from 1962 to 1965 by the Peel Engineering Company on the Isle of Man. It currently holds the record for the smallest automobile to go into production. It has no reverse gear thus proving difficult to maneuver in tight situations.

Designed as a city car, it was advertised as capable of seating "one adult and a shopping bag." The vehicle's only door was on its left side, and equipment included a single windscreen wiper and only one headlight. Standard colors were Daytona White, Dragon Red and Dark Blue. The 1963 model retailed for £199 when new (about £1400 in 2010, or $2200 USD). 50 of them were produced, and only 27 of them are known to be still in existence.

In 2010, production of a replica version was started by a newly formed company, called Peel Engineering Ltd based in England (not to be confused with the original Peel Engineering Company from the Isle of Man). Externally this car was very similar to the original but with many major mechanical differences in the suspension, steering and drivetrain. Driven by an electric motor and with a top speed of 16 km/h (10 mph), this version was produced as a display vehicle and was not road legal. In 2011 production commenced on a new road legal petrol version. Most colors from the original are used in the 2010 models with only Dark Blue being replaced by Capri Blue.

Production is located in an undisclosed location in northern England.

At 54 in (1,372 mm) long and 41 in (1,041 mm) wide and with an unladen weight of 59 kilograms (130 lb), the P50 holds the record as the smallest ever to go into production.

130 lbs.!!  At that weight, you can carry the darn thing... as you will see in the video below.

 

 

Source(s): wikipedia, wikipedia, toxel.com/,  wikipedia, wikipedia, auto.howstuffworks.com/, homepage.ntlworld.com/, technologicvehicles.com/