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Reinvigorating an Iconic EngineeringDesign Brand
Faizal Khan (OE 1998) has breathed new life into the ‘world’s smallest car’ – the Peel P50 – after pitching his company’s ideas on the TV show Dragons’ Den. Andrew Beattie asked him how he became a business entrepreneur – and how as a qualified FIFA agent he has helped to revitalize the national football team of Guyana. Engineering and physics have featured a lot in your business roles. Did your time at Eltham College inspire you in this direction? My time at the school was enjoyable and memorable. We had teachers that challenged us to think outside the box, and the group of pupils I was close with also challenged each other all day, every day. If I am honest, when Guyana struck oil in 2015 and I was learning more about hydrocarbons, I thought to myself, ‘I really wish I had paid full attention in my Chemistry and Physics classes at Eltham College!’ A word of note to the pupils reading: pay attention in class all the time, even if the subject you are studying isn’t your favourite. You just don’t know when that information might prove useful in the future. Design Technology was a favourite subject of mine at school. It involved making of all sorts of weird and
wonderful things, understanding the strengths of materials, and how to best affix components together. These have been skills that have been useful in later life. Tell us about the Peel P50 cars. They were manufactured in the Isle of Man many years ago, but you have revived the brand. What inspired you about them? Since 1962 the Peel P50 has been listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s smallest car. Dare I say we were able to take the appeal of the Peel P50 to global recognition, with the car today featured in over 150 countries and counting. Together with my business partner, Gary Hillman, I reinvigorated this classic microcar brand about 15 years ago. This involved appearing on the BBC programmes Top Gear and Dragons’ Den as well as a Cadbury’s TV commercial. The re-manufacture
Jeremy Clarkson testing out a P50 for the BBC’s Top Gear
