Dave goes back to the future and takes a 1985 vintage Sinclair C5 electric "car" for a spin, one of only a handful in the country. This was Sir Clive Sinclair's vision for personal transport.
This video is private.
Sorry about that.
Just to warn you Dave.
I've managed to start watching before it was private. Cool device, but I would be very much afraid to be ran over in this thing
Now you can put a 1000 watt hub motor and 15 pounds of LiPo batteries on a recumbent tadpole trike and go 55mph...still have the issue of getting hedghogged though...
I want one of those! There's just something fascinating about this little vehicle that makes me like it.
It's so simple, barebones. It reminds me of an airplane, the Piper J3 Cub:
I also want one of those
There's something fascinating about their simplicity. The J3 has been in service for 70 years and I am sure this Sinclair car would have been if the time was right and it caught on.
I would 100% buy a modern version of this for a couple hundred bucks, especially if it was a viable commuter vehicle.
I would 100% buy a modern version of this for a couple hundred bucks, especially if it was a viable commuter vehicle.
Yeah me too. And I would prefer a 2 wheel version, sorta like a bike aided with a motor, but I think that already exists. The point is, a vehicle like this gets you rolling, it's much better than the 12 minute walks I sometimes have to do. I have taken 1 hour walks to the electronics market because taxis here follow fixed routes, which is ok, but they place 4 adults in the back seat and 2 in the front plus the driver. I hate it, so I prefer walking. Their practices are totally unsafe and theoretically illegal, but they can control the government cause if they stop working, the half the city does as well.
A little vehicle like this should be fun and could be carried in the back of an SUV or small truck as well as practical for many kinds of people. It would be great if they had different variations, by that I mean they could come in tricycle versions, bike versions, even 2 seat buggy versions with different specs on power and speed, different license requirements (the ones that are legally considered bikes will be very appealing).
15Kg of lead acid battery? Wow we have come a fair way, 15Kg if lithium would get you something like 150Ah @12-14v depending on chemistry!
'oley jeeze is that winter time in Australia? Please tell us this is old footage.
'oley jeeze is that winter time in Australia? Please tell us this is old footage.
Yep, still winter here.
Yes, it's old footage, shot 3 days ago
Joined just so I could post this photo, It has been on my computer for ages and until this video I had no idea what it was.
The Brits were very big on strange vehicles,like the Bond company,which made some incredibly weird devices.
Closer to home,(Oz),does anyone remember the Lightburn Zeta?
It was a "real car"-----sort of!
The Zeta was made by a washing machine manufacturer,so a lot of the components were not standard car parts.
It was driven by a 2 stroke motor----quite a small one,if I remember correctly.
The original design came from Eastern Europe------sorry,can't remember where.but the Aussie version had a fibreglass body.(an ugly one!)
There was also a Sports version,which looked a bit like a Goggomobil Dart.
The Goggos were a much more sophisticated vehicle,though.
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I've turned on youtube image stabilsation in this video, please tell me what you think.
I have to decide whether or not to keep it. I think I have 24 hours to revert back, otherwise I'm stuck with stabilised version.
You call that an electric car?
THIS is an electric car
http://www.mercedes-amg.com/webspecial/sls_e-drive/eng.php?lang=eng 
60 kWh, 400V input
552 kW (751 hp) output
1 kNm torque
naught to 100 km/h in 3.9s
250 km/h top speed (electronically limited)
The only question not decided:
Will this thing empty your wallet faster when you buy it than it will empty its battery when you drive it at 250 km/h?
The C5 production line along with the manufacturing rights was sold to a Californian company where they made them as executive toys, do they still make them there. I was once tasked with fitting a set of flasher lights to a C5 the lights were the crappiest possible very flimsy and poorly made using festoon bulbs and the kit included a stamped sheet metal tool for drilling the holes in the plastic.
Here is a link to the Sinclair video mentioned in the teardown
This one made in China looks a bit more comfortable, less nerdy and the rearview mirrors are standard.
Overall dimensions(L*W*H)mm2150×950×1700
Wheel base (mm):1450
Rear tread (mm):750
Motor:72V2000w brushless DC
Controller:72V80A
Battery:72V45AH (lead acid)
Charger:72V/6.5A
Max.speed:65 km/H
Range:70 km
Climb ability:25°
Front Tire4.00-12
Rear Tire:145/70-12
Brake:Disk
I've turned on youtube image stabilsation in this video, please tell me what you think.
Ok in general. Only caused lots of blur on the sped-up part.
...and this is what 'Spitting Image' thought of the C5
omg that video is hilarious. "what is it?" "an invalid car" "but I am not an invalid"...."haven't driven it yet.."
What's with that crappy DMM at 32:51 ?
The entire world was invaded by those meters
Really good video BTW...
this is much like the Danish "Ellert" that was invented by Steen Volmer Jensen in the beginning of the 1980 and first showed of at a car show 1985, so seems they was out at the same time
Not really, the Danish version was a motorbike not a bicycle, i.e. more powerful and it was closed.
Production was stopped in Denmark long time ago and moved to Germany:
http://www.cityel.com/index.php/produkte/der-cityel