Sinclair Vehicles Ltd was a company formed in March 1983 by Sir

Clive Sinclair Sir Clive Marles Sinclair (30 July 1940 – 16 September 2021) was an English entrepreneur and inventor, best known for being a pioneer in the computing industry and also as the founder of several companies that developed consumer electronics ...

as a focus for his work in the field of

electric vehicle An electric vehicle (EV) is a motor vehicle whose propulsion is powered fully or mostly by electricity. EVs encompass a wide range of transportation modes, including road vehicle, road and rail vehicles, electric boats and Submersible, submer ...

s. The initial investment was £8.6m, which came from the proceeds of the sale of some of Sir Clive's shares in

Sinclair Research Sinclair Research Ltd is a British consumer electronics company founded by Clive Sinclair in Cambridge in the 1970s. In 1980, the company entered the home computer market with the ZX80 at £99.95, at that time the cheapest personal computer ...

. Barrie Wills, formerly of the

DeLorean Motor Company The DeLorean Motor Company (DMC) was an American automobile manufacturer formed by automobile industry executive John DeLorean in 1975. It produced just one model, from early 1981 to late 1982—the stainless steel DeLorean sports car featur ...

, was appointed managing director. The first (and only) Sinclair Vehicles production model was the single-seater

Sinclair C5 The Sinclair C5 is a small one-person battery electric vehicle, battery electric Recumbent bicycle, recumbent tricycle, technically an "electrically assisted pedal cycle". It was the culmination of Sir Clive Sinclair's long-running interest in el ...

, launched on 10 January 1985. Larger models were planned, including the C15, a four-seater car capable of speeds of up to . The generally poor reception given to the C5 by the press and public meant that these models would never reach production. In August 1985,

Hoover Hoover may refer to: Music * Hoover (band), an American post-hardcore band * Hooverphonic, a Belgian band originally named Hoover * Hoover (singer), Willis Hoover, a country and western performer active in 1960s and '70s * "Hoover" (song), a 201 ...

, the manufacturer of the C5, announced that production would be stopped due to a financial dispute with Sinclair Vehicles. The following month, Sinclair Vehicles was renamed TPD Ltd. On 15 October 1985, it was announced that TPD were in receivership and the company entered voluntary liquidation on 4 November 1985.

References

Excerpt from ''Sinclair and the 'Sunrise' Technology''

{{motorvehicle-company-stub Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United Kingdom Electric vehicles introduced in the 20th century

Vehicles A vehicle () is a machine designed for self-propulsion, usually to transport people, cargo, or both. The term "vehicle" typically refers to land vehicles such as human-powered vehicles (e.g. bicycles, tricycles, velomobiles), animal-powered tr ...

Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1983 1983 establishments in England Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1985 1985 disestablishments in England British companies established in 1983 British companies disestablished in 1985

See also

References