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Inventor steps forward to claim credit for the Sinclair C5 – even if it was a flop

Sir Clive Sinclair with one of the C5 vehicles Tony Wood Rogers says he designed - PA
Sir Clive Sinclair with one of the C5 vehicles Tony Wood Rogers says he designed - PA

It was the eccentric failure that firmly established the computing innovator Sir Clive Sinclair in the public eye.

But bizarrely, given its less than glorious fate, a rival has now come forward to claim responsibility for the C5 electric three wheeler, saying his role in its development has been overlooked.

A Devon-based inventor says he came up with the original design for Sir Clive’s vehicle – voted the greatest innovation disaster of all time in one poll – and that the finished product was based on his vision.

Tony Wood Rogers decided to try and reclaim the C5 crown after Sir Clive’s nephew, Grant Sinclair, unveiled a new, faster version of the original.

Mr Rogers was hired as a consultant by Sir Clive in the early 1980s, when he began working on the idea of launching a single-seater electric vehicle as an answer to growing traffic congestion.

However, three decades on, Mr Rogers feels that he has never gained the recognition due for his contribution to the development of the C5.

“It was my idea to do the C5 first. I designed it,” he said. “Clive is an inventor and he invented lots of things, but he didn’t invent the C5. It annoys me.

“I never got the recognition I deserve. Clive always wanted to be seen as the inventor."

Tony Wood Roger with an electric powered Renault Twizy he bought in 2012 - Credit: James Millar
Tony Wood Roger with an electric-powered Renault Twizy he bought in 2012 Credit: James Millar

Looking back at his part in the development of what many regard as a groundbreaking electric vehicle, Mr Rogers, who now runs a language school in Exeter, said: “It was ahead of its time. You look at all the prototypes we developed then and many of these ideas have recently been put into production by other people.”

At his home in Devon, where he is now working on a new design for a piano with "perfect" intonation, the 69-year-old inventor keeps what he says is the first ever drawings of the C5, which he produced for Sir Clive.

“I’ve still got the first sketch of the C5 I did, dated January 1983. I really designed it for kids to go to school on, either as a two wheeler or a three-wheeler. Kids thought the three-wheeler was cool. They still do,” he told The Telegraph.

Mr Rogers admits there were some fundamental problems with the vehicle.

“The components were rubbish, and the gear box was deleted before production, which would have made it go up hills; we should have taken more time to develop that.”

Although a commercial flop – its low speed and small size making users feel vulnerable on the road – the C5, originally priced at £399, became a cult hit, with Prince William and Prince Harry driving one around the grounds of Kensington Palace.

Production of the vehicle came to an end in 1985, with only 4,500 sold and the firm behind it owing £1 million to creditors.

Actress Bonnie Langford promoting the C5 following its launch in 1985 - Credit: Alamy
Actress Bonnie Langford promoting the C5 following its launch in 1985 Credit: Alamy

Sir Clive, now 76, carried on inventing, designing among other things a fold-up bike for commuters and a personal computer.

Earlier this month, following a long period in hospital, he divorced his wife Angie, a former lapdancer 36 years his junior.

Grant Sinclair’s new streamlined version of the C5 is an all-enclosed electric bicycle capable of reaching speeds of 30mph, twice that of the original, at a cost of £3,999.

He says Mr Rogers’s contribution should be recognised, but that he was not the only designer and inventor working on the C5 project.

Mr Sinclair said: “The C5 was my uncle's vision and concept, and I recall him employing a sizeable team around its development and future concepts, including Tony Rogers on the early engineering.

“Tony and many others in the Sinclair Design team were paid to design concepts for Clive’s electric vehicle ideas.  Sinclair commissioned Tony to act as a consultant on the electric vehicle project and I have seen many C5=like concept sketches from different Sinclair designers dating from around 1981.”

Mr Sinclair added: “What Clive did was get the cost right down to an affordable and commercial price point by pioneering the use of new materials and mass production techniques, which I believe was an incredible achievement.”

Despite its failure, the C5 went on to become a collector's item, with surviving examples of the vehicle now selling for as much £5,000 each.

Grant Sinclair riding his invention, the Iris E-Trike electric tricycle, and (bottom) Sir Clive Sinclair in its C5 predecessor - Credit: Reuters
Grant Sinclair riding his invention, the Iris E-Trike electric tricycle, and (bottom) Sir Clive Sinclair in its C5 predecessor Credit: Reuters

 

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