Explore motoring.im
sinclair-c5.motoring.im
Every fact

185 facts, every one sourced

Every fact on this site in one list, each linked to its source. Our build stores the source text and checks that the key words and figures in each fact really appear in it; see the sources page.

  1. 1 Sinclair Vehicles launched the C5 on 10 January 1985, priced at £399 including VAT, plus £29 for packing and delivery. Sinclair press kit, 1985
  2. 2 The launch was held in the Pavilion, a temporary hall in the East Court car park at Alexandra Palace in north London, put up while the palace was rebuilt after its 1980 fire. Alexandra Palace
  3. 3 Six C5s burst out of cardboard boxes, driven by models round a purpose-built indoor track. Alexandra Palace
  4. 4 Under a new 1983 law it counted as an ‘electrically assisted cycle’, so anyone aged 14 or over could drive it without a licence, road tax, compulsory insurance or a helmet. Sinclair press kit, 1985
  5. 5 The 1983 Regulations let a tricycle count as a pedal cycle if it weighed no more than 60 kg, had pedals that could propel it, and had no motor except an electric one of no more than 0.25 kW that could not drive it above 15 mph. 1983 Regulations
  6. 6 The Regulations were made on 1 July 1983, laid before Parliament on 8 July and came into operation on 12 August 1983. 1983 Regulations
  7. 7 The press kit said the C5 was designed by Sinclair and developed and tested by Lotus Cars. Sinclair press kit, 1985
  8. 8 It was built under subcontract at Hoover’s plant in Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales, where production had begun in early November 1984. Sinclair press kit, 1985
  9. 9 Sinclair expected to build ‘well in excess of 100,000’ C5s in 1985, creating about 200 jobs. Sinclair press kit, 1985
  10. 10 BBC Radio 5 Live says Sir Clive originally hoped to sell a million a year. BBC Radio 5 Live
  11. 11 In the second week of August 1985 Hoover publicly stopped all work on the C5, saying it had run out of key parts and would plan no more until its differences with Sir Clive were settled. Adamson and Kennedy
  12. 12 Sinclair Vehicles, renamed TPD Ltd the month before, was placed in receivership on Friday 12 October 1985, owing about £700,000 to 110 suppliers. Adamson and Kennedy
  13. 13 The Guardian’s obituary of Sir Clive says his reputation ‘came a cropper’ with the C5, which sank under ‘gales of derisive media laughter’. The Guardian, 2021
  14. 14 Today a small band of enthusiasts repairs and recommissions the C5s that survive. Hagerty UK, 2021
  15. 15 Sir Clive had the idea as early as the 1970s, at Sinclair Radionics, where he and Chris Curry developed a slimline electric motor. Hagerty UK, 2021
  16. 16 Sinclair’s own launch notes said his work on electric vehicles began in 1973, with a full design programme from 1981. Sinclair press kit, 1985
  17. 17 Hagerty says Sinclair hired Tony Wood Rogers in 1979 to study a ‘personal electric vehicle’ with a 30 mph top speed, known as the C1. Hagerty UK, 2021
  18. 18 Adamson and Kennedy place the hiring of Tony Rogers, a Radionics veteran working as a consultant, early in 1980. Adamson and Kennedy
  19. 19 The brief they quote was for one person, with a second ‘only by squeezing’: a replacement for the moped, for town use, with a top speed of 30 mph. Adamson and Kennedy
  20. 20 A price of £500 was talked about, a quarter of the price of a Fiat 126. Hagerty UK, 2021
  21. 21 Development began in earnest at the University of Exeter in 1982, and Ogle Design, the firm behind the Bond Bug, was brought in to style the C1. Hagerty UK, 2021
  22. 22 In March 1980 the government abolished road tax for all electric vehicles, which made the idea look like a real business. Adamson and Kennedy
  23. 23 Sinclair decided to make do with existing batteries rather than fund a better one, reasoning that a successful electric vehicle would push battery makers to improve their own. Adamson and Kennedy
  24. 24 In the press kit Sir Clive argued that others had started from the car and waited for a better battery; Sinclair took today’s battery as given and designed outwards. Sinclair press kit, 1985
  25. 25 In March 1983 Sir Clive sold some of his shares in Sinclair Research, raising £12 million, and formed a new company, Sinclair Vehicles. Hagerty UK, 2021
  26. 26 Adamson and Kennedy say the new company started with £8.6 million of the money from the share sale. Adamson and Kennedy
  27. 27 The press kit itself dates Sinclair Vehicles Ltd to February 1984, at the University of Warwick Science Park, running a vehicle project that Sir Clive had bought from Sinclair Research in 1983. Sinclair press kit, 1985
  28. 28 Its managing director was Barrie Wills, 42, who had started as a Jaguar apprentice in 1959, worked at Reliant, and been acting chief executive of DeLorean’s UK side during its 1982–83 receivership. Sinclair press kit, 1985
  29. 29 Sir Clive, 44 at the launch, had founded Sinclair Radionics in 1962 and Sinclair Research in 1979; the ZX81 and ZX Spectrum had each sold more than a million. Sinclair press kit, 1985
  30. 30 The power to treat assisted cycles as something other than motor vehicles came from section 24 of the Transport Act 1981, and draft rules went out for consultation in 1982. Hansard, 28 Jan 1985
  31. 31 The government told Parliament that several firms, Sinclair Research among them, showed interest while the rules were drafted, but that Sinclair, unlike some, gave it no details of its ideas. Hansard, 28 Jan 1985
  32. 32 Sinclair User described the 1983 change as meant to help disabled drivers and milk float makers. Sinclair User, March 1985
  33. 33 Sinclair adapted the project to fit the new class, and development carried on through 1984. Hagerty UK, 2021
  34. 34 Hagerty notes that the 15 mph limit still shapes the top speed of electric bicycles today. Hagerty UK, 2021
  35. 35 In 2015 the rules changed: the cut-off rose to 15.5 mph, the weight limits went, and machines with more than three wheels were allowed. 2015 amendment memo
  36. 36 Lotus was brought in for testing, the industrial designer Gus Desbarats was hired to refine Ogle’s shape, and Hoover was to build it. Hagerty UK, 2021
  37. 37 The press kit credits the styling to ‘Guy Desbarats’, a young graduate of the Royal College of Art’s industrial design course. Sinclair press kit, 1985
  38. 38 BBC Radio 5 Live names him Gus Desbarats, hired as a designer at the time. BBC Radio 5 Live
  39. 39 By the time Desbarats arrived most of the design was fixed, but he got a high-visibility pole and a little storage behind the driver added. Hagerty UK, 2025
  40. 40 Hagerty’s 40th-anniversary piece credits Ogle Design with the C5’s look, Exeter University with refining its aerodynamics, and Lotus with the final detailing, the last prototypes and the testing. Hagerty UK, 2025
  41. 41 It adds that Sinclair did almost no market research, relying on Sir Clive’s belief that the market was there. Hagerty UK, 2025
  42. 42 Andrew Marks, writing in the European Journal of Marketing, found the C5 went from drawing board to prototype without any market research. BBC Future
  43. 43 The Welsh Development Agency approached Hoover in spring 1983 to ask whether it would assemble the C5. RCAHMW
  44. 44 Hoover assembled it at its washing machine factory at Pentrebach, Merthyr Tydfil, which had opened in 1948. RCAHMW
  45. 45 Hoover set aside part of the plant for the C5 and spent £100,000 on a dedicated production line. Adamson and Kennedy
  46. 46 Before Hoover, Sinclair spent about a year talking to DeLorean’s liquidators about buying the failed carmaker’s Northern Ireland factory. Adamson and Kennedy
  47. 47 On launch day, the press kit said, more than 2,000 had already been built. Sinclair press kit, 1985
  48. 48 The Guardian reported that some 2,500 had already come off the line. The Guardian, 1985
  49. 49 At first it was sold only by mail order, from three warehouses, with a 12-month guarantee, battery, charger and courier delivery within 14 to 28 days. Sinclair press kit, 1985
  50. 50 A £3 million advertising campaign backed it. The Guardian, 1985
  51. 51 It was also on show in more than 100 Electricity Board showrooms. Sinclair press kit, 1985
  52. 52 At the launch Sir Clive began by saying what he was not announcing: a conventional car. The C5, he said, was ‘the first stage on the road to an electric car’. Adamson and Kennedy
  53. 53 Alexandra Palace says the steep hills and lying snow round the park made batteries overheat and fail, and even Stirling Moss got into difficulties. Alexandra Palace
  54. 54 Sinclair User reported that test machines driven at the launch gave out halfway up Muswell Hill. Sinclair User, March 1985
  55. 55 Journalists reported that many of the C5s prepared for them were faulty. Hagerty UK, 2025
  56. 56 Hagerty says Moss was stranded when his C5 died on a hill nearby. Hagerty UK, 2025
  57. 57 Moss warned that anyone who sat in it and thought they were in a car ‘because they’re sitting down’ would be in trouble. BBC Future
  58. 58 The launch notes spelled out the limits: power-assisted speed capped at 15 mph, and weight at 60 kg. Sinclair press kit, 1985
  59. 59 There were no foot controls. The pedals were there because the law required them; they could add range and get the driver home with a flat battery. Sinclair press kit, 1985
  60. 60 A chain linked the pedals to the driven axle at one fixed ratio, about 3 metres of travel for every full turn of the pedals. Sinclair press kit, 1985
  61. 61 The motor came from Polymotor, an Italian subsidiary of Philips, which the press kit said made motors for aircraft and marine uses, including gyros and torpedoes. Sinclair press kit, 1985
  62. 62 Your Computer magazine described a 250-watt motor driving one rear wheel, and found it could not climb even gentle slopes without pedalling. Adamson and Kennedy
  63. 63 Hagerty calls it a third-of-a-horsepower motor. Hagerty UK, 2021
  64. 64 Drive went through an epicyclic reduction gearbox made by Mikron UK, with glass-reinforced nylon gears, then by toothed belt to a Torrington-made rear axle. Only one rear wheel was driven. Sinclair press kit, 1985
  65. 65 Hagerty says Lotus provided the gearbox and rear axle, reworking designs for a steering column from one of its cars. Hagerty UK, 2025
  66. 66 It also says the motor was first meant to drive the cooling fan of a heavy lorry. Hagerty UK, 2025
  67. 67 There was no regenerative braking: with the motor off, the C5 simply freewheeled. Sinclair press kit, 1985
  68. 68 A circuit board by AB Electronics, built round a custom Ferranti chip, protected the motor from overheating and cut the drive if it drew very high currents for too long. Sinclair press kit, 1985
  69. 69 The battery, developed with Oldham, was a lightweight lead-acid unit of 15 kg and 35 Ah, designed to survive being run down hard again and again. Sinclair press kit, 1985
  70. 70 The owners’ site c5owners.com gives it as a 12 V, 36 Ah battery. c5owners.com
  71. 71 It was meant to last at least 300 severe deep discharges, and its maker guaranteed it for 12 months. Sinclair press kit, 1985
  72. 72 Recharging from the mains took about eight hours. Sinclair User, March 1985
  73. 73 Sinclair advised a ‘push and coast’ technique: a burst of power, then a coast, then another burst. Sinclair User, March 1985
  74. 74 Sinclair claimed a range of up to 20 miles, or 40 miles with an optional second battery. Sinclair press kit, 1985
  75. 75 The National Motor Museum gives 24 miles on one charge, or 40 with two batteries. National Motor Museum
  76. 76 BBC Future gives 18.7 miles (30 km). BBC Future
  77. 77 The Guardian’s 1985 report said the battery could give out after anything from 11 to 25 miles. The Guardian, 1985
  78. 78 The AA’s test on its usual suburban course gave a typical range of ten miles, about half the claim; on a cold day in poor conditions the battery went flat after 6.5 miles. Adamson and Kennedy
  79. 79 The AA recorded a top running speed of 12.5 mph. Adamson and Kennedy
  80. 80 The government’s road research laboratory found it was in effect a one-speed machine under power, at about 20 km/h. TRRL report, 1985
  81. 81 Sinclair claimed 1,000 miles of running for the price of a gallon of petrol. Sinclair press kit, 1985
  82. 82 The AA put a year’s running at about £19 to £22, allowing for battery replacement, against £19.25 for a £390 Honda moped. Adamson and Kennedy
  83. 83 Sinclair’s spokesman said the battery lost 8 to 10 per cent of its efficiency at zero degrees, and more below freezing. Sinclair User, March 1985
  84. 84 The body was two large polypropylene mouldings by Linpac, from ICI material, welded together by passing a current through conductive tape at the joint. Sinclair called it the largest mass-produced polypropylene moulded assembly ever made. Sinclair press kit, 1985
  85. 85 Underneath was a steel backbone chassis developed with Lotus, which also worked on the steering geometry, frame flex and tyres. Sinclair press kit, 1985
  86. 86 The wheels were moulded in glass-reinforced nylon, with 16-inch rear wheels, and the turning circle was about two-thirds of an Austin Mini’s. Sinclair press kit, 1985
  87. 87 You steered with a bar running beside the seat, linked to the front fork. A push-switch on the left gave power, and cycle-style levers braked the front wheel and the undriven rear wheel. Sinclair press kit, 1985
  88. 88 The handlebars sat beneath the driver’s thighs, and there was no reverse gear. Sinclair User, March 1985
  89. 89 Sinclair User found that on a dry, level start a couple of turns of the pedals were enough before the motor cut in, but pedalling was needed on steep hills. Sinclair User, March 1985
  90. 90 The magazine measured it at 2 ft 6 in wide, 2 ft 6 in high and 6 ft 6 in long, with a boot of one cubic foot. Sinclair User, March 1985
  91. 91 They could not squeeze an executive briefcase into the boot. Sinclair User, March 1985
  92. 92 The Guardian gave it as under six feet long and 2 ft 7 in high. The Guardian, 1985
  93. 93 Sinclair User put its weight at 99 lb (about 45 kg), including a 33 lb battery. Sinclair User, March 1985
  94. 94 The Guardian gave a basic weight of 66 lb (about 30 kg). The Guardian, 1985
  95. 95 The Science Museum Group lists its first C5 at 44 kg. Science Museum Group
  96. 96 Its second C5, catalogued with wood and textile among its materials, is listed at 79 kg. Science Museum Group
  97. 97 Museum Wales lists its C5 at 30 kg. Museum Wales
  98. 98 Sinclair said the average driver’s eye level was the same as in an Austin Mini. Sinclair press kit, 1985
  99. 99 Lamps, reflectors all round and a key-operated ignition switch were standard, and small LED displays monitored the motor, the load and the battery. Sinclair press kit, 1985
  100. 100 Mirrors, indicators, a horn, seat cushions and weather gear were extras. Sinclair press kit, 1985
  101. 101 With the extras RoSPA called essential, plus insurance, a spare battery and delivery, Sinclair User put the real cost at about £600; the extras alone were £143. Sinclair User, March 1985
  102. 102 A rear ‘high-visibility mast’ was offered as an accessory. Sinclair press kit, 1985
  103. 103 Planet Sinclair says pressure from RoSPA and the press later forced Sinclair to include the mast. Planet Sinclair
  104. 104 Hoover painted the frame inside and out to an appliance-shell standard, and it passed a 96-hour salt spray test. Sinclair press kit, 1985
  105. 105 Most of the main parts were British: the battery by Oldham, the body mouldings by Linpac and the electronics by AB Automotive Electronics. Sinclair press kit, 1985
  106. 106 Lotus ran durability tests on rigs and its own test tracks, with work at MIRA, British Aerospace and the Prescott hill climb. Sinclair press kit, 1985
  107. 107 In tests by the government’s Transport and Road Research Laboratory, lorry drivers could not see a standard C5 just in front of the cab, and there was a blind spot just to the cab’s nearside. TRRL report, 1985
  108. 108 Ridden near the kerb, it took up about 350 mm more of the road than a bicycle. TRRL report, 1985
  109. 109 Its brakes were weak when new, at 0.37 g, but reached 0.70 g once bedded in, a figure few bicycles can match. TRRL report, 1985
  110. 110 It was far more stable than a bicycle, though a violent steering input could tip it on its side. TRRL report, 1985
  111. 111 With only one gear, the motor could trip out on a hill, and the seating could not be adjusted to help pedalling, so a C5 could stop in traffic or even roll back. TRRL report, 1985
  112. 112 Getting out took two to three seconds, even when riders had been told to be ready. TRRL report, 1985
  113. 113 By night, with 5-watt lamps and a white body, it was relatively easy to see. TRRL report, 1985
  114. 114 The laboratory concluded that the C5’s overall record on the road might be similar to a pedal cycle’s: better in some respects, poorer in others. TRRL report, 1985
  115. 115 The researchers added that if the bicycle had been invented in 1985 it would probably have been declared unacceptable, so easily do riders fall off. TRRL report, 1985
  116. 116 In Parliament the transport minister, Mrs Chalker, said the C5 sat about as low as an open sports car but had conspicuous white bodywork and a very good rear lamp, was impossible to wobble or fall off, and had very effective brakes, wet or dry. Hansard, 4 Feb 1985
  117. 117 The Department of Transport said it was not thought likely to have a worse record than pedal cycles, and that its record would be watched closely. The Guardian, 1985
  118. 118 RoSPA, commissioned by Sinclair to write a booklet on driving it, warned that its low height meant lorry drivers and less alert motorists might not spot it. Sinclair User, March 1985
  119. 119 Even so, RoSPA did not think it should be banned, and said that with the mast it beat bicycles for stability. Sinclair User, March 1985
  120. 120 Before the launch James Tye of a campaigning council test-drove it on 6 January 1985. His council sent a critical report to its 32,000 members, and Sir Clive said he would sue; nothing came of the threat. Adamson and Kennedy
  121. 121 The Daily Telegraph’s tester found his head level with the top of a juggernaut’s tyres, with exhaust fumes blowing into his face. Adamson and Kennedy
  122. 122 Its first battery, he wrote, ran flat after seven minutes. Adamson and Kennedy
  123. 123 Because of the secrecy, the only tests on public roads before launch had been at night, with little traffic about. Sinclair User, March 1985
  124. 124 Which? magazine’s verdict in June 1985: of limited use in its present form, and poor value for money. Adamson and Kennedy
  125. 125 The AA concluded that it looked more comfortable and convenient than it really was. Adamson and Kennedy
  126. 126 In April 1985 the Advertising Standards Authority upheld complaints about the launch advertising, chiefly the claim that it carried far less risk than anything on two wheels. Adamson and Kennedy
  127. 127 Top Gear’s William Woollard said there was nothing the C5 could do that a bicycle couldn’t do more economically and more flexibly. Hagerty UK, 2025
  128. 128 Drivers felt exposed not only to passing traffic but to strong breezes and rain. The Guardian, 2021
  129. 129 Sir Clive later admitted January had not been the best time to launch, as the batteries tended to give up in cold weather. The Guardian, 2021
  130. 130 In 2010 he told the Independent on Sunday: ‘I rushed at it too much.’ The Guardian, 2021
  131. 131 Sinclair’s spokesman said sales in the first week were ‘fast approaching 1000’. Sinclair User, March 1985
  132. 132 Adamson and Kennedy say it was four weeks after the launch that the company celebrated 1,000 sales. Adamson and Kennedy
  133. 133 A month after that, Barrie Wills claimed 5,000 C5s were on the road. Adamson and Kennedy
  134. 134 One early buyer, a pensioner, told The Times it would not go up a hill the first time he tried it, so he sent it back. Adamson and Kennedy
  135. 135 Sinclair User noted that even drivers disqualified from driving a car by the courts could use one. Sinclair User, March 1985
  136. 136 From 1 March 1985 it went on sale in Woolworth and Comet stores; Comet took a launch stock of 1,600. Adamson and Kennedy
  137. 137 Nine months later both chains were still holding most of their orders and cut the price by 65 per cent. Adamson and Kennedy
  138. 138 Full-scale production was halted on 29 March 1985, under three months after the launch, and resumed at only 10 per cent of the original rate. Hagerty UK, 2021
  139. 139 Adamson and Kennedy say production stopped for three weeks to deal with complaints about a plastic moulding on the gearbox, and the 100 Hoover workers on the C5 were moved to refitting stock. Adamson and Kennedy
  140. 140 They put the cut at 95 per cent when work restarted in April, with Hoover making about 100 a week. Adamson and Kennedy
  141. 141 In May 1985 Sinclair admitted that 6,000 were unsold, twice the figure previously disclosed. Adamson and Kennedy
  142. 142 A Dutch transport authority ruled that the C5 was not suitable for Dutch roads in its present form, asking for better brakes, more reflectors and the mast as standard. Adamson and Kennedy
  143. 143 Planet Sinclair’s summary says it was banned outright in the Netherlands. Planet Sinclair
  144. 144 Yet by 1996 many resold C5s had gone to the Netherlands, where they suited the flat cycle paths. The Independent, 1996
  145. 145 In July Hoover drew up a writ against Sir Clive personally for £1,525,000 for C5 work since November 1984, plus interest, but never served it. Adamson and Kennedy
  146. 146 By then Sir Clive had turned down an offer of £2.7 million for the company. Adamson and Kennedy
  147. 147 The Welsh royal commission says about 12,000 C5s had been assembled at Merthyr when production ended in August 1985, with Hoover owed around £1.5 million. RCAHMW
  148. 148 Sinclair User reported that the money dispute was settled, but with so much stock still unsold there were no plans to restart production. Sinclair User, 1985
  149. 149 It named the receivers as David Sapte and Anthony Locke of Begbies. Sinclair User, 1985
  150. 150 Sinclair Research’s spokeswoman put Sir Clive’s investment in the company at £7 million. Sinclair User, 1985
  151. 151 A separate company, Sinclair Vehicles Sales Ltd, carried on taking orders. Sinclair User, 1985
  152. 152 The planned C10, an enclosed two-seater, and the four-seat C15, each with a range of about 40 miles, were delayed; the C15 had already been in a wind tunnel. Sinclair User, 1985
  153. 153 In February 1985 Sir Clive had talked of selling the C15 by 1990 as an electric four-seater capable of up to 80 mph. Adamson and Kennedy
  154. 154 TPD went into voluntary liquidation on 4 November 1985. Adamson and Kennedy
  155. 155 Shareholders heard that on top of the £8.6 million, Sir Clive had lent £5.9 million, secured by debenture; 4,500 unsold C5s were still in TPD’s hands, and the deficit was about £6.4 million. Adamson and Kennedy
  156. 156 In some big stores a C5 with a full set of accessories could be had for £139.99. Adamson and Kennedy
  157. 157 Many unsold C5s were eventually sold for less than a fifth of the original price. Hagerty UK, 2021
  158. 158 In 1996 Maurice Levensohn announced that he had sold nearly 7,000 C5s, at up to £700 each, which he had bought after the venture collapsed. The Independent, 1996
  159. 159 Sir Clive tried again with the Zike electric bike, launched in August 1992; by May 1993 its makers had announced they were stopping production. The Independent, 1996
  160. 160 c5owners.com says about 2,000 Zikes were sold. c5owners.com
  161. 161 A Sinclair X-1, said in 2011 to be going on sale at £595, never appeared, according to c5owners.com. c5owners.com
  162. 162 Within months Sir Clive was forced to sell his computer company to Amstrad. The Guardian, 2021
  163. 163 Sir Clive Sinclair died in September 2021, aged 81. The Guardian, 2021
  164. 164 Hoover’s Merthyr factory closed in 2009, after 61 years. RCAHMW
  165. 165 It picked up nicknames including the Doodle-buggy, Hoover Hedgehog, Skinny Mini and Voltswagen. RCAHMW
  166. 166 It has even been named the worst gadget of all time, ahead of Betamax videos and pizza scissors. BBC Future
  167. 167 Its plastic body panels have weathered the decades better than most steel cars. BBC Future
  168. 168 The Science Museum Group holds two C5s, both made in Merthyr Tydfil in 1985; one was a gift from Manchester Business School. Science Museum Group
  169. 169 Its catalogue says 14,000 were produced at Merthyr but only 4,500 were ever sold. Science Museum Group
  170. 170 The National Motor Museum says fewer than 9,000 had been sold by the end of 1985. National Motor Museum
  171. 171 BBC Radio 5 Live says 17,000 were bought before the company went into receivership. BBC Radio 5 Live
  172. 172 Planet Sinclair says fewer than 17,000 were sold. Planet Sinclair
  173. 173 Sam Rowell, who runs the C5 Depot specialist, estimates around 15,000 were built; he owns about 62. Hagerty UK, 2025
  174. 174 The Guardian’s obituary says only a few thousand were ever sold. The Guardian, 2021
  175. 175 Museum Wales bought its C5, number 2250, in December 1986. Museum Wales
  176. 176 It is on display at the National Waterfront Museum in Swansea. RCAHMW
  177. 177 In 2025 the Festival of the Unexceptional marked the 40th anniversary with a C5 display. Hagerty UK, 2025
  178. 178 In January 2025 owners, designers and former company staff returned to the exact spot of the launch to mark 40 years. Alexandra Palace
  179. 179 In 2021 Hagerty counted a Facebook group of nearly 1,700 members and a website on repair and upkeep, including 3D-printed replacement parts. Hagerty UK, 2021
  180. 181 In 2014 a fully working C5 cost around £650 on eBay. BBC Future
  181. 182 Buyers included Elton John and the magician Paul Daniels. Hagerty UK, 2025
  182. 183 The Guardian’s obituary describes it as a tricycle with a modified Hoover washing machine engine. The Guardian, 2021
  183. 184 The Guardian in 1985 said the motor was ‘bred from washing machine technology’ and came from Italy. The Guardian, 1985
  184. 185 Adamson and Kennedy say it came from the less glamorous end of Polymotor’s range: a modified washing-machine motor. Adamson and Kennedy