Author: Adam Sloman
The Festival of the Unexceptional has been the home to the forgotten vehicles of the 70s, 80s and 90s. This year we’re celebrating the 40th anniversary of perhaps the most unexceptional vehicle to ever take to the UK’s roads – the Sinclair C5.
Sir Clive Sinclair was, in many ways, the embodiment of Britain in the 1980s. Entrepreneurial, intelligent and somewhat eccentric.
Born in 1940, Sir Clive’s father and grandfather were both engineers, so it is perhaps unsurprising that as an 18-year-old he found work selling miniature electronic kits.
He wrote books on electronics and sold kits pocket radios and designed and sold the first pocket calculator, the Sinclair Executive. The calculator was a huge success, allowing him to develop his next project, the a digital wrist watch known as the Black Watch. Despite a price equivalent to over £200 today, the watch was plagued with design flaws and was not a success and amid mounting debts, he exited the company, establishing Sinclair Research to continue his career, where he would enjoy his greatest success – the ‘home micro’
Home micros were affordable home computers – kids told parents they were the ideal tool to help with homework, secretly being part of the growing scene of video games and home coding. The continued success of the ZX80, ZX81 and eventually the legendary ZX Spectrum not only swelled the company’s coffers but also made Sinclair a household name.
From Computers to…cars?
With the ZX80 nearing launch, Sir Clive hired a consultant to begin research into an electric vehicle, something cleaner and safer than a moped open to young people or urban commuters.
Sinclair sank a significant amount of money into the design and development of what became known as the C5, establishing a new company, Sinclair Vehicles, to focus on the new project. A head office was opened in Coventry and a contract was signed with Hoover for manufacture of the C5.
Ogle Design (the firm responsible for the Bond Bug) gave the C5 its distinctive look, Exeter University refined Sinclair’s aerodynamics, while legendary sportscar company Lotus were brought in to finalise the detailing, construct final prototypes and carry out testing.
The development of the C5 drew in resources from across the motor industry, but one area Sinclair avoided almost entirely was that of market research, instead relying on Sir Clive’s belief there was a market for the new vehicle.
Sinclair recruited Gus Desbarats to head up a new car design studio, with Desbarats believing the C5 was to be a true electric car. The young designer quickly noted a number of issues with the C5, ranging from a lack of storage and security features, no indication of the vehicles range and no rear-view mirrors. Desbarats arrived too late however, with much of the design locked for full scale production. He did succeed in getting a high-visibility pole added to the vehicle, along with a small amount of storage behind the driver.
The C5’s chassis was simple, comprised of two identical pressings. Like a Ferrari, the C5’s motor was made in Italy, unlike a Ferrari it was originally intended to power the cooling fan of a heavy goods vehicle before it found a new home in the Sinclair. The motor drove just one of the rear wheels and could propel the C5 to a top speed of (limited) of 15mph. Lotus provided the gearbox and rear axle, reworking existing designs for a steering column from one of their cars. Tyres came from Taiwan, while the batteries came from a slightly less exotic location – Oldham.
Wrong place, wrong time
The launch came in a cold, grey, snowy January – far from the ideal time to launch a vehicle with no roof or heater. Top Gear legend William Woollard summed up his opinion of the C5 saying “There’s nothing the C5 can do that a bicycle couldn’t do more economically, more flexibly and more safely.”
Held at Alexandra Palace, journalists reported many of the C5s prepared for them were faulty, and those that did get to drive quickly found the little Sinclair struggled to climb the modest hills surrounding the launch venue. Others found their C5s lasted just minutes before exhausting their charge – even legendary F1 driver Sir Stirling Moss found himself stranded when his C5 died on a hill nearby.
Hoover would end production just 8 months after the launch and by the end of 1985, Sinclair Vehicles had collapsed into liquidation.
While it was a commercial failure, the C5 did find an audience – Elton John bought one, as did magician Paul Daniels (it remains unknown if the lovely Debbie McGee ever drove one) – even Prince William and Harry had one to drive around various royal estates before they could drive. A community began to form around the C5 and today they’ve become something of a collector’s item. Facebook groups, forums and specialists provide advice, spare parts and much more to a small, but vocal army of C5 fans.
It’s that army that will be joining this year’s Festival of the Unexceptional to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Sir Clive’s vision and while it may not have revolutionised personal transport, it’s another fantastic example of something unexceptional finding some exceptional love and attention.
Sam Rowell runs the C5 Depot, a specialist in Sinclair C5s, as well as the Facebook communituty. “In May 2016, I rode a C5 for the first time. Once you sit one, it all makes sense” he says. The C5 Depot plays into Sam’s hobbies, such as Computer Aided Design (CAD), 3D printing and electronics. “I really enjoy working on C5s. It’s manageable, they don’t take up much space and you can modify them to go a bit faster. It’s perfect tinkering. Take them to a car show and you’ll get more attention than a Ferrari.”
Sam estimates around 15,000 C5s were built, he owns around 62 examples, including 15 he imported from Ibiza. “It’s horrendous seeing them being broken for parts – the C5 depot has a ‘no breaking’ policy. We’ve got to work on some cool C5s along the way, including the John Player Special Elio De Angelis’ C5 used as a pit vehicle for the 1985 British Grand Prix.
FOTU’s C5 display will include a pre-production prototype, a mint original and a well used, unrestored C5 as well as others showcasing various Sinclairs from across the owner’s community.
“I encourage everyone to have a go and form their own opinion. They’re great fun and still road legal. You’ve just got to be 14 years old, no helmet, no tax, no insurance.. 40 years since launch, The Electric Dream is alive and well!”
Get FOTU Tickets
If you want to see this unique Sinclair C5 display, get your tickets now for the Festival of the Unexceptional. It’s the ultimate celebration of everyday classics and forgotten icons!
