It was reported to have a 125 cc (8 cu in) Villiers two-stroke engine with a three-speed gearbox, a dry weight of 195 pounds (88 kg)[6] and a cruising speed of around 30 mph (48 km/h).

[9] Knowing that the Ministry were ending their contract in 1948, and recognising the limitations of his existing works as a base for mass production, Bond approached the Managing Director of Sharp's, Lt. Col. Charles Reginald 'Reg' Gray, to ask if he could rent the factory to build his car.

[10] Bond carried out some further development work on the Minicar, but once mass production was underway, left the project and sold the design and manufacturing rights to Sharp's.

[11] The prototype and early cars utilised stressed skin aluminium bodywork, though later models incorporated chassis members of steel.

[13] Though retaining much of Lawrie Bond's original concept of a simple, lightweight, economical vehicle, the Minicar was gradually developed by Sharp's through several different iterations.

In April 1962 the purchase tax rate of 55 percent, which had been applied to all four-wheeled cars sold in the UK since the war was reduced to 45 per cent.

[23] The integrity of the main stressed skin structure was enhanced by the absence of doors, the bodysides being deemed low enough to be stepped over without major inconvenience (unless you were wearing a skirt).

[23] The rear wheels were rigidly mounted to the body on stub axles with suspension provided by low pressure "balloon" type tyres.

[12] Starting was achieved by using a pull handle mounted under the dash panel and connected by cable to a modified kick-start lever on the engine.

[23] Early on, Sharp's adopted a policy of continual gradual upgrading of the Minicars, either to simplify or reduce maintenance, to redress noted failings or to improve some aspect of performance.

[36] The Sharp's Commercial 3 Cwt took the concept of the Minicar's light, three-wheeled, utilitarian design, and adapted it as the basis for an open-top lightweight industrial vehicle.

Though described as "constructed on the stressed-skin principle", large cut outs to allow easy access from either side of the vehicle required much additional strengthening to the floor, with a central steel backbone girder, a cross member between the rear wheels and further triangular bracing.

Steering was by worm and sector, and flared side panels allowed the single front wheel to turn a full 180°, making the vehicle extremely manoeuvrable.

[28] The Sharp's Minitruck, (initially, they were referred to as Utility in the production records) was the pickup version, which outwardly was very similar to the Mark B Tourer, but included an extension of the bodywork behind the rear wheel.

The extended goods compartment and space alongside the driver provided a claimed load capacity of 3 cwt and 24 cu ft (0.68 m3).

[40] It had the same load capacity and also shared the same extended length of the pick-up, but had an enclosed aluminium compartment behind the driver's seat with a side hinged rear door.

[42] Badged as the 'ESC' (England's Smallest Car), this prototype utilised the main body and rear suspension of the Mark B, but added mock front wings, a passenger side door and a valance beneath its oval-shaped grille.

This bracket, holding the engine and front wheel unit is bolted to a cast alloy bulkhead which forms a major structural component of the car.

[57] In October 1953 a new Triplex windscreen and surround was introduced, the dashboard glove box was removed, a two-roll seat replaced the earlier round top variety and the old gearchange and steering shaft u/j's were eliminated.

[63] The revised engine was reported to give the Mark D notably better acceleration, better climbing ability and lower fuel consumption in direct comparison with its predecessor.

Beneath the skin, there were two main steel frames, one which made up the principal support for the floor, rear suspension and doors and a second which carried the steering assembly and engine.

[70] Weather protection was more sophisticated, the hood now including a front section that could be rolled back as a sunroof while the detachable side screens incorporate sliding windows.

Rather than widen the entire car to retain the flat sides of the prototype, the extra track width was accommodated by making the bottom part of the rear wings flare outwards.

[73] In a publicity stunt for Sharp's, three Bond Minicar Mark Es, (two Saloon Coupes and a Tourer) were the first cars to drive along Britain's first motorway, the Preston By-pass when it opened on the morning of 5 December 1958.

UK law at the time also meant that this type of lightweight, single-seat three-wheeler could be driven unaccompanied on learner L-plates without the need to pass a driving test.

The front seats were adjustable for position and the passenger side now folded much further forward than on previous models to allow easier access to the rear,[82] although the doors were still felt to be too narrow for easy entry.

[82] The new style roof offered several inches more headroom and incorporated a backward-slanted rear window of the type popularised in the UK by the Ford Anglia.

A development of the 31A, the new engine incorporated numerous mechanical refinements to improve strength and reliability, albeit slightly at the cost of overall power, now rated at 11.5 bhp (9 kW; 12 PS) at 4,500 rpm.

Although public response at the 1962 Motorcycle show remained encouraging, the changes to purchase tax meant there was now a much less significant price difference between the Minicar and other small cars and in November production was scaled back with consequential job losses.

This basically used the saloon car body, but with a larger rear deck incorporating an opening boot lid, a folding hood, new fibreglass bonnet, plain door panels, no chrome side trim and non-opening quarter lights.