Reliant · 1975–1982

Reliant Kitten

The Reliant Kitten is a small four-wheeled economy car which was manufactured from 1975 to 1982 in saloon, van and estate variants by the Reliant Motor Company in Tamworth, England. It was Reliant's second attempt at selling in the small car economy market after the 1960s Reliant Rebel. The Kitten is based around the design of the original 1970s Reliant Robin and was the first production car to use Reliant's 850 cc engine. Even though UK production ended in 1982 the whole production assembly was sold to Indian firm Sipani Automobiles where production ran until the mid 1990s.

Text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Predecessor: Reliant Rebel · Successor: Reliant Fox

All Reliant Kitten data: UK builds, safety, recalls, model years →

Development and history

The Kitten was Reliant's second attempt to sell into the general small car market, the previous attempt in the 1960s was the Reliant Rebel and Reliant at the time told Ogle Design to make the Rebel look completely different to the Reliant Regal 3/25 it was based on (but keep the same doors and windscreen) but for the new Kitten design Reliant told Ogle to keep as much of the Robin as they could to keep production costs down by parts sharing, as Reliant knew sales would be lower than the current Robin. The Kitten was originally going to use the 750 cc Reliant engine that was currently fitted to the Reliant Robin but after driving prototypes, it was soon decided the 750 cc 32 hp (24 kW) engine was not acceptable, so it was decided to tune the engine; but after engineers researched this they found that by changing the crank and rods the 750 cc engine could become a 850 cc engine without changing the liners or pistons, which again saved production costs. This new engine 850 cc engine developed 40 hp (30 kW) and could also be used in the Robin as an upgrade. The chassis design of the Kitten from mid section backwards is essentially the same as that of the three-wheeled Reliant Robin using leaf springs and a solid rear axle, from the middle forwards the car is significantly different, with the engine moved forward and instead of using suspension from another manufacture Reliant-designed (but Lotus-inspired) double wishbone front suspension. Moving the engine forward increased driver and front passenger room, compared with the three-wheeled cars. Prototypes of the Kitten were shown to the public in 1974 with some criticism that the Kitten looked like a "4 wheeled Robin" and because of this the car had a quick front end redesign with the round headlights replaced with the squa

The Sipani Dolphin and Montana

1982 was not the end of production of the Kitten, though, as large numbers were built as CKD kits in Bangalore by Sipani Automobiles Ltd. Renamed the Dolphin, these cars had only slight changes, such as front grille and wheel trims. However, two-door cars were not particularly popular in India as laws restricted the sale of such vehicles in half of the country. As a result, Sipani produced the Montana, a larger five-door hatchback with a more modern appearance. The cars were successful rally cars in India and were seen as a popular home-grown choice of vehicle. Sipani carried on producing vehicles built around the Kitten design and mechanicals into the 1990s. A preservation society exists called the Reliant Kitten Register.

Journalists impressions

Classic and Sportscar magazine noted that the car's 80 mph (130 km/h) speed and 45 mpg‑imp (6.3 L/100 km) fuel economy gave it real kitten-like performance, with a taxi-like 23 ft (7.0 m) turning circle" but that it was more expensive than rival cars from other manufacturers, which could build larger numbers of vehicles. In a letter to the editor of Motorsport magazine in 1976, a Dr Robert Elliot-Porter wrote that he had driven his Kitten on an 80 mi (130 km) round-trip on a motorway and averaged 81.5 mph (131.2 km/h). He called it "a car of which the British can be proud," adding that he had driven his Kitten more than 25,000 mi (40,000 km) in 10 months of ownership. Both he and his wife owned Kittens. Automotive writer Craig Cheetham opined that Reliants in general appealed to "the older generations among Britain's population" because of the car's durability and that "the average buyers" of the Kitten "were well into their sixties".

Sections adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0); text is shortened. Read the full article for the complete history and citations.

Specifications

sp: uk
name: Reliant Kitten
Manufacturer: Reliant
Production: 1975–1982, 4,074 made
Assembly: United Kingdom: Tamworth, England
Predecessor: Reliant Rebel
Successor: Reliant Fox
Engine: 848 cc light alloy I4
Designer: Ogle <!--
Body style: 2-door saloon, 3-door estate car/van
Height: 55 in
Kerb weight: 1120 pounds (508 KG)
Width: 56 in
Wheelbase: 84.5 in
Length: 131 inSaloon

Specification summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Measured facts from Wikidata (CC0). Check the linked sources for citations.

More photos

Sources

Wikidata — https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1394749CC0 1.0 · retrieved 2026-10-01
Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reliant_KittenCC BY-SA 4.0 · Text © Wikipedia contributors; revision 1351556775 · retrieved 2026-10-01
Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Reliant_KITTEN_ESTATE_dutch_licence_registration_42-UK-32_pic3.JPGCC0 · Photo: AlfvanBeem · retrieved 2026-10-01
Car Model Index — https://models.autoculturesociety.com/Compiled record. Sources that do not permit reuse are not copied; this index is credited instead.