Sinclair C5 - the revolution that failed to materialize
A few days ago, PS.Speicher commemorated the Sinclair C5 on the occasion of Environment Day (June 5). A colleague of mine bought one of these early electric vehicles in the 1980s and used it to commute to work. It must have often felt adventurous, but it must have been efficient and environmentally friendly.
The Sinclair C5 came onto the market in 1985 and was a development by Sir Clive Sinclair, who had already shaken up the computer market with the Sinclair ZX80 from 1980 as an inexpensive "personal computer".
With the Sinclair C5, he wanted to achieve the same for individual mobility. The compact electric tricycle transported a single passenger, who steered the vehicle with a handlebar under the legs. However, the vehicle, which weighed around 45 kg, only ran at just under 25 km/h and had a short range of around 30 km. There was also no weather protection.
A total of 14,000 C5s are said to have been built in 1985, but only 5,000 were sold before production was halted. Clive Sinclair had completely misjudged the chances for this type of vehicle on the market.
Subsequently, the C5 became "cult" after all and many of the previously unsold examples found owners after all.
I don't know what happened to my colleague's C5 in the end. Perhaps the three-wheeler is still waiting to be rescued in some cellar ...
There are three of these Sinclair C5s in the PS store, which can of course be viewed in the "small car collection" .
