Hastings college students take on challenge to get Reliant Robin on the road

College students with Reliant Robin SUS-190504-094026001

Chandlers Building Suppliers in Lewes approached the team at the Automotive Training Centre (ATC) to help them get their Robin Reliant road worthy and ready for the rally which gets underway in September.

The 1986 Reliant Rialto was delivered to the ATC on the Ridge in Hastings at the beginning of March and Automotive tutor, Marc Beattie, has set his students the challenge of getting the car ready by the end of June.

Marc said: “The students couldn’t wait to get started on this project when the Robin Reliant arrived at ATC. They will be doing all the work themselves but I will be overseeing the project to make sure all the modifications are safe and suitable for purpose, as the car will be covering some 2000 miles start to finish.”

“Although the rally doesn’t start until the beginning of September, I have set the students the challenge of getting the car completed by the end of June so that we can take it to some of the car shows over the summer and maximise the fundraising opportunities.”

The Pavestone Rally invites builder’s merchants from across the UK to raise money for charity. The goal is to drive a car, worth less than £500, across Europe in four days, while in full fancy dress.

This is the fourth year that Chandlers have taken part and have been ever-present since the race began in 2016.

Sue McKinney, from Chandlers, said: “This challenge is our most daring yet and we are so excited to have the Automotive students helping us out. To have such young talent supporting us is amazing and we cannot wait to see the transformation being made to our humble Robin Reliant. We have no doubt the input of the students will make a huge difference in getting us across the finish line and bringing home the trophy for the Chandlers Cembrit team. We aim to make your Motor Vehicle students proud!”

The Rally starts on Thursday September 5 in Reims in France. From there the team will drive across to Stuttgart, then on to Salzburg in Austria, followed by Venice in Italy. The last leg of the rally will see them travel to the picturesque Lake Como.