Overview

In 1985 Sir Clive Sinclair, possibly one of the UKs most famous inventors and innovators of recent generations, launched the Sinclair C5 electric vehicle on a wintery morning to a large press fanfare at Alexandra Palace in London. Sir Clive who was well known for his prior consumer technological triumphs such as the first LED electronic pocket calculator, miniature televisions, and the famous home computers the ZX81 and the ZX Spectrum (which many people cite as being the catalyst of the UK computer and software industry in the 1980s, and which many current programmers still quote as the start point of their careers). Sadly, that launch was not only the beginning, but also the start of the end of the ill-fated electric vehicle. This is that story.