YouTube channel Quadrant has posted some video footage from one of the unlikeliest North Loop runs ever: the driver sat behind the wheel of a Peel P50, a supermini three-wheeler that the host called the slowest vehicle in history ever to attempt the iconic racetrack.
The Peel P50 emerged in Great Britain in the 1960s as a wallet-friendly personal transportation option advertised as an actual car. It lagged behind most vehicles of the era with tiny wheels, a single seat and an engine capable of three horsepower (2.2 kilowatts).
Ex-Formula-3 racing driver Max Fewtrell, who drove the P50 through the North Loop, said he had encountered a number of unforeseen challenges during the ride. For example, certain stretches where most normal cars are expected to go as fast as possible proved to be dangerous for the P50 and needed slowing down instead. Aside from having only three wheels, the tiny ride has an engine mounted off-center to one side, so a sharp corner can easily make it tip over. In the video, you can see it wobble from side to side even on straight stretches, and on one occasion, Fewtrell barely escapes tumbling off the track.
In the end, the racer denounced the car as far too dangerous for the Nordschleife – if for all the wrong reasons. It lacks such basic safety features as belts and airbags, doesn’t retract its steering column in the event of an impact, and is known to easily catch fire if it crashes.
On a side note, the ‘race’ was Max Fewtrell’s first appearance on the North Loop throughout his entire career.
