The 80's Electric Trike
They were greeted by media ridicule and public scorn. They were criticised for being unsafe, due to their low road visibility. Only had a range of 15miles on a full charge, and took 8 hours to charge fully.
Perhaps they were ahead of their time by 20 years as we now seek ways to cut congestion and pollution in our cities. Along with a growth in cycle lanes and many cities starting to take action to cut vehicle emissions the humble Sinclair C5 could become popular once more. The majority of the 17,000 originally built are still out there somewhere, either forgotten in sheds and garages or if lucky owned by an enthusiast that takes it out for a ride now and then.
The Sinclair C5
Sinclair C5 Specs
Top Speed - 15mph
Range - 15miles
Charge Time - 8hours
Number made - 17,000
Original RRP - £399
Weight - 99lb
Sinclair C5 on Wikipedia
The Sinclair C5 was a battery electric vehicle invented by Sir Clive Sinclair and launched in the United Kingdom on 10 January 1985. It was a battery-assisted tricycle steered by handles on each side of the driver's seat. Powered operation was possible making it unnecessary for the driver to pedal. Its top speed of , was the fastest allowed in the UK without a driving licence. It sold for £399 plus £29 for delivery. It became an object of popular ridicule and was a commercial disaster, selling only around 12,000 units.
Sinclair C5 Poll
Sinclair C5's on Ebay
+ Spare Parts and Accessories
There are often one or 2 C5's on ebay, as well as plenty of spares and accessories. It can be quite surprising seeing the bids they get.
If you would like to place this ebay feed in your RSS reader you can keep upto date with the latest C5 auctions. - http://feeds.feedburner.com/SinclairC5
Fetching RSS feed... please stand bySinclair C5's on Flickr
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"The upper body assembly was the largest mass-produced injection-moulded assembly ever made"
Sinclair C5 Videos
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Sinclair C5 Advert 1 point
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The Sinclair C5 Song - ToneBank - ToneBank.co.uk (2006) 1 point
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Jon on his Sinclair C5 0 points
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mauro's sinclair c5 0 points
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Sinclair C5 In The Wet
Would the Sinclair C5 be a success today?
A Modern, High Spec, Sinclair C5?
With huge advances in battery and recharging capabilities the C5 may have been a success in todays showrooms.This little runaround from the US could well be a great success, Al Gore has already ordered 1!
Check the video and be amazed by the specs!
For a longer 24minute intro video Click Here
Or for a shorter clip of the Tango EV in traffic Click Here
The SEMA Tango EV
Sinclair C5 Links
- Sinclair C5 Enthusiasts Site
- A Site by a Sinclair C5 Enthusiast - lots of info, but looks like it was written using a Sinclair ZX81!
- Electric trike C5 hits road again
- BBC News - A mass drive of '80s electric tricycle Sinclair C5 is staged for the anniversary of the factory where it was made.
- Sinclair C5 fan aims to cross UK
- BBC News - A Sinclair C5 fan is to attempt to drive one of the machines from John O'Groats to Land's End to mark the model's 20th anniversary. You'll have to read the story to find out if he made it!
- C5Alive.co.uk - The place to keep your Sinclair C5 running ! C5 Parts and Accessories!
- The best and most cost effective place on the planet to buy Sinclair C5 Parts and accessories, stickers, tyres, drivebelts, LED bulbs and information about Clive Sinclair's C5 Electric Car
- Sinclair C5 World Authorised Dealer for Parts and Service
- All parts and accessories: The only authorised Sinclair Research dealer in the World, established 1985.
Sinclair C5 Guestbook
Do you have memories of the Sinclair C5?
Did you own one?
Have you got one lurking in the garage?
Did you ever ride one?
Share your story here!
Please note html will be striped from comments and spam comments will be removed
Anachronism wrote
Arizona-Snow,
Actually the ZX80 used the Zilog Z80, the Sinclair C$ used a Ferranti chip.
Sorry for being a geek, but I am the owner of one of these babies, and you can't help falling in love with them once you've used one!
Posted June 23, 2008
davewashere wrote...
Thanks for joining my group. I had never heard of this vehicle, but I found your lens to be very fascinating. The Sinclair C5 looks like a modern concept, not something that was actually put into production a generation ago!
Posted May 14, 2008
gedtee wrote...
I had a ride in one about 15 years ago, a quite enjoyable experience actually.
Posted May 03, 2008
Arizona-Snow wrote...
I remember these things, don't they run on a ZX80 processor, ROFL.
Posted April 22, 2008
ElizabethJeanAllen wrote...
I don't remember the C5 (and I'm old enough to remember). With gas prices going the way they are, I think the C5 or an updated version of it has possibilities. The limited range and speed may be an issue.
Nice Lens!
Liz
The Weekend Reader
Posted April 21, 2008
Sinclair Spectrum T-Shirt
Retro Game Shirt
From RetroGT
Under Construction
Meanwhile if you have some photo's of Sinclair C5's, please feel free to upload them to Flickr, labeled/named as Sinclair C5 and the module below should show them automatically.
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