A three-wheeler bubble car made in Peel is expected to fetch at least £80,000 at an auction in the United States on August 18.

The Peel Trident micro-car was built in 1965 and will be sold in Monterey, California, by RM Sotherbys on behalf of its American owner.

A Trident famously appeared in Top Gear in 2007 and was described by presenter James May as ’something out of The Jetsons’, a Hanna-Barbera animated sitcom.

It has a 49cc, 4.2 horse power engine which can power it to a top speed of 38 miles per hour.

The car is just 73 inches long and 39 inches wide with no doors. Drivers have to get in by lifting its dome top.

The Trident, made by Peel Engineering, was the successor to the famous Peel P50 which holds the Guinness World Record for the smallest production car ever made.

Jeremy Clarkson drove a P50 around the BBC offices in a 2007 Top Gear episode.

The Peel cars are now something of a collector’s item and a red P50 three-wheeler, made in 1964, was sold for £120,000 at a Sotheby’s auction in Florida in March 2016.

On its release, the Trident cost £190 and was described as having ’saloon car comfort with scooter cost’, with the slogan ’your transport of tomorrow - today’.

At 100 miles per gallon, it was also described as ’almost cheaper than walking’.

But it did not prove popular and Time magazine listed the Trident in their ’50 worst cars ever’.

Talking about the latest auction, Jake Auerbach, from RM Sothebys told the Daily Express: ’After caring for and enjoying the car as part of his collection over the past few years, the time has come for the vendor to pass it on. One could say he has simply outgrown it.

’For the man who has everything microcars represent something new and interesting to buy, no matter how many millions of dollars worth of cars are already parked in your garage.

’It is small enough to be stored just about anywhere, unique enough to complement just about any collection, and is guaranteed to be a conversation starter.

’It’s not unusual for many of the world’s largest collectors to have a few microcars kicking around for this reason.

’There is an undoubted resemblance between the Trident and George Jetson’s flying car. Anyone who has driven one through traffic will know that’s a frequent comment from passersby.’