Sinclair C5 Cycle / Car Launched
From the collection of
From the collection of
Sinclair C5 electric vehicle introduced by Sir Clive Sinclair and designer Brian Spooner.
Launch of the Sinclair C5 on 10 January 1985 at Alexandra Palace, London. Already there was scepticism about the new electric vehicle - a battery-assisted recumbent pedal tricycle in a streamlined casing, offering 1,000 miles for the cost of a gallon of petrol. Anglia Television had already taken a C5 for a 'road test' in an empty warehouse. The designer of the chassis, Brian Spooner of Norfolk-based Lotus Cars, talks through the features of the design. James Tye of the British Safety Council voices concerns about the road safety of the vehicle. Sir Clive Sinclair, founder of Cambridge-based Sinclair Research home computers, had been interested in the possibilities of electric vehicles since the 1950s. He asks that people wait to see and test the C5 before forming an opinion. The reporter was Tim Child for this video filmed to be shown in a news story on Anglia Television early evening news / magazine programme 'About Anglia'.
Video filmed to be inserted during live broadcast of Anglia Television's early evening news / magazine programme 'About Anglia'. The live studio presentation provided context for the video as part of a news story or magazine feature within the programme. 'About Anglia' was not recorded during broadcast, so it is usually just the pre-recorded programme inserts which survive. In the 1980s Anglia Television was broadcasting to a wide area in the East of England including Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Norfolk, Northamptonshire, Suffolk and adjoining parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire and Rutland where there was some overlap with neighbouring ITV regions.