Del Boy’s three-wheeled van from Only Fools and Horses set to fetch £40k at auction in the West Midlands
The Reliant Regal Supervan III was used by the characters in the first two series of the beloved BBC sitcom
Del Boy’s three-wheeler yellow van from Only Fools & Horses is set to fetch a lovely jubbly £40,000 at auction in the West Midlands.
The Reliant Regal Supervan III with “Trotters Independent Trading Co” on the side was used by the characters in the first two series of the beloved BBC sitcom.
The 1969 van - registration APL 911H - was one of six bought by the BBC for Only Fools & Horses but the only one used in every one of the 13 episodes between 1981 and 1982.
Official documents in the Reliant Motor Club archive confirm it was used by Del and Rodney in the first episode Big Brother.
The van also featured in The Russians Are Coming and most famously in A Touch of Glass, where Del, Rodney and Grandad smashed a chandelier.
Four decades after appearing on screen the three wheeler is being sold with props from the show including a replica Harrison watch and a novelty £6.2 million cheque made payable to D Trotter and R Trotter.
The van, which has a top speed of 55mph and has done 97,000 miles, has been lovingly restored to its former glory.
Recent mechanical work includes a new old stock carburettor, brake cylinders and battery, together with attention to the fuel system.
It has since passed into the hands of a private collector who is selling it at Iconic Auctioneers' Classic Sale in Birmingham in November, where it is expected to sell for between £30,000 and £40,000.
The van has recently had tyres fitted and its brakes overhauled so it could be used at charity events.
The owner has also returned a number of details to its TV appearance, including the grey-primer bonnet hatch, bumpers and wings, and red-painted door interiors.
The vehicle featured in the famous 1982 episode A Touch of Glass in which Rodney drives the van into the countryside where he, Del and Grandad stumble upon the lady of a nearby manor house whose car has broken down.
When Del gets into the stately home he pretends to be a chandelier expert and offers to clean Lord Ridgemere’s Louis VXI chandelier with disastrous but hilarous consequences.
When the priceless piece crashes to the floor Del, Rodney and Grandad make a quick getaway in the battered-looking yellow van.
The auctioneers said it belonged in the top echelon of British TV vehicles.
Gary Dunne, sales manager at Iconic Auctioneers, said: “This Reliant is a good reminder that significance is not always measured in performance or panache.
"There can’t be many vehicles that are as instantly recognisable as this APL 911H.
"Its connection to the very earliest years of Only Fools and Horses makes it particularly special, and for the right fan, you might even say: lovely jubbly.”
The Classic Sale takes place at the NEC Classic Motor Show in Birmingham on November 15.