Bond Bug Sprint Prototype

In the mid-1990s Reliant, the maker of the original Bond Bug, planned to relaunch the little wedge in updated form as the Sprint. Tom Karen of Ogle Design, who had styled the 1970 Bug, reworked the shape: he rounded off the sharp edges, added circular front and rear lamps and a new rear end with extended wheelarches.

The prototype was painted bright yellow and had Minilite alloy wheels and a grey vinyl interior. It was built on a Reliant Robin chassis cut in half, with the rear half keeping the Bug’s original suspension, and many Robin switches and dials were reused to keep costs down. Production could have started for as little as £12,500, but Reliant’s management doubted that a three-wheeler would sell in large numbers in the 1990s and refused to let the project go ahead. Only the one prototype was made.