Lots of media attention was given to the Rebel at launch at the Earls Court Motor Show with many publications praising the new Reliant small 4 wheeler, Reliant had over 1000 notices of interest from the public at the show from people interested in purchasing the new car. Sadly for Reliant they could not fill these early orders, Rebel production was always low and frustrating for customers since Reliant hadn't expanded its factory to give the Rebel its own production line, Reliant instead spent the money making a new production line and factory building for the new Scimitar Coupe which was launched alongside the rebel in 1964. So for every Rebel produced Reliant had to shut down Regal production for the Rebel to be produced on that line, something management didn't want to do since the Regal was very in demand and more profitable, this was the reason why there was a big marketing push when the Rebel was launched with very few cars being produced thereafter. The Rebel didn't get its own dedicated production line until 1971 during Rebel 700 production. It then lost it in 1974 along with the Bond Bug in order to increase production of the newly launched Reliant Robin to keep up with demand after its 1973 launch. Not having Rebels readily available at dealers after its launch and for several years thereafter, are the main reasons why production numbers were so low compared to the Regal 3/25 and 3/30 which sold over 100/000 cars over same period. Ray Wiggins had developed the Rebel as a marketing exercise for Reliant to push the company into new parts of market. He wanted people to become aware that Reliant was in this segment of the market, but he did not push the Rebel to sell in huge numbers as expected. Management were more concerned about 3-wheeler production rather than Ray Wiggin's longer-term view. Models The Rebel launched in October 1964 as a saloon with the same 598cc engine as used in the Reliant Regal 3/25 and only one trim level, but with an accessory list. These vehicles were only produced in two production batches in the Tamworth factory in November/December totaling in only around 100 original Rebel built. These vehicles are mostly seen as pre-production as they were built for dealer demonstrations only and the specification changed between each vehicle as the factory tested different fabrics and