Sinclair C5 infomercial 1985
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- čas přidán 3. 04. 2012
- Launched in January 1985, Sir Clive Sinclair's C5 was decades ahead of its time.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinclair_C5
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2...
This video was produced designated for use at point of sales. Digitised from the original VHS tape using with my Pinnacle Dazzle DVC90 DivX Video Grabber and uploaded it for you guys to enjoy!
Raw: Sinclair_C5_infomercial_VHS_tape_1985.avi - Věda a technologie
Brought affordable calculators and home computers to the UK market, and this is what Clive Sinclair is remembered for. When you get it right, no-one remembers. When you get it wrong, no-one forgets.
I think most people remember the Speccy over the C5
I personally know the guy responsible for the first handheld calculator mass manufactured. He's an Australian who spent years living in hong kong supervising production. He went on to own a software company with 2 other guys that runs petrol stations and was produced in several languages with an office in Singapore and 2 in Australia and in common usage in Thailand. He sold the company for millions in the early 2000s then went onto a robotics controlled kitchen manufacturing thingy. You would design your kitchen on his CAD program, then hit "print" and the robot would saw up all the panels and print the part numbers on them to help with assembly. He's retired now in his 70s.
Most of us remember the speccy with fondness.
"Large capacity boot" - shows someone stuffing a single carrier bag into the space.
I've always said that if Mr Sinclair had done the c5 up in bright colours and marketed it as a children's toy, he'd have made an absolute mint on it, and it would probably still be in production today.
I'm thinking red and yellow like the Little Tikes or Playskool cars or they could make a patchwork colour series
@@peterjamesmmbago2773 I agree
@@cryptocsguy9282 Nice..Also what it the C5 went solar ? More distances and less electricity...
@@peterjamesmmbago2773 yes that could work too 🤔 I suppose
I think he could've gone the elderly people route, make it for nana to ditch the morris with serious problems to a new vehicle that will give her the shopping run but DAMN, put a REAL size carrier hanging out the back. Like about a 150 litre tub or something with both closed or mesh top so she can take the little dog with her and leave him in the back with fresh air while she shops. Both that sit on the side and you swing up whatever one you want then lock it. Make it a REAL contender to the robin reliant, the EV version that won't tip versus petrol fibreglass 3 wheeled tip over deluxe.
With the rising popularity of EBikes, and the proliferation of safe cycling infrastructure, it's really starting to look like Sir Clive was just ahead of his time. Imagine what the world would look like today if these had taken off.
I saw one of these in a museum yesterday, and I had the same thought. Its price, adjusted for inflation, is similar to that of of a typical affordable e-bike as well. Imagine this thing with a modern lithium-ion battery pack. You could easily have something that could go 50 miles or more on a single charge.
Kim Justice video on Clive brought up that the real issue with the C5 was marketing. Sinclair basically marketed as an alternative to a car. But after the C5 failed, Sinclair liquidated there supply. The company that bought it had to sale it for more than double the original prince. But they marketed it as an expansive toy, and they sold every single last one of them.
Got one of these for my 13th birthday (shhhhh) when they had been reduced to £200 after Sinclair went bust. Loved it! Even had my CB radio in it :)
Would having a CB radio in the C5 run the battery down!
@@sanchoodell6789 Yes, but not a noticeable impact on range tbh. Biggest problem was getting an acceptable SWR! 😉
You lived in the 80s future man
@@cliffthelightning Oh yes, they were amazing. Maybe no internet or mobile phone, but *great!* Goldberg's, they know 😉
@@SqueekyBums I remember those days/problems so well
Just heard the news of Sir Clive's passing. Those of us who were at the beginning of the home computer were truly blessed. Thank you Sir Clive.
"same height as a family car" and shows it next to a mini lol
Yes. that was a bit cheeky. (unless you had a very mini family!)
I think I'll just take the mini instead please lol
Try driving in front of a double articulated lorry on an A road as you get cruelly crushed to death
Still looks kinda futuristic even though it's 30 years ago.
WHAT? Anyone could have told them the day before it launched that it would be a complete and utter failure.
Never catch me in that
@@aoifeeeeeee Hell, they could catch you in that by walking! LOL.... I know....
@@christo930 15mph
Yes you're right.Surprisingly It, and infarct, even this advert still looks *very* modern and contemporary and hasn't dated at all! Could've come out last week. The hairstyles and fashions look up to date. E-vehicles are all the rage now. Just think this (1985) was 36 years ago. 36 years before 1985 would be 1949! (Just four years after WWII) and any advert made that year would have DEFINITELY looked dated by 1985! Amazing!!
Rest in peace Sir Clive, you were just too far in front of your time. These with modern tech would have been great.
It's just a old person mobility scooter... I see the same thing at the grocery store.
Worlds first electric bike. Just not quite there yet in 1985.
@@ButterfatFarms Yes but was it the world's first "electric trike".
@@ButterfatFarms Batteries have improved loads over the past 35 years. There is also Bluetooth technology, and WiFi. There are now charging stations too around the streets. You need to get with the times m8t. It isn't 1985 anymore. 1985 mobile phones have improved with technology then so would have the C5.
@@wanderer1955 I wouldn't pay too much attention to them, they're all over here aggressively complaining about the C5 😅 you're correct, it was ahead of its time as an idea, it just wasn't the right product for the idea.
It’s 2021 and I want one of these, obviously with an up-to-date battery!
Oh how I miss the eighties
same
I miss hiding cocaine in the walkman on Duran Duran's tape
@@massimobernardo- Ah man. You're about as easy as a nuclear war!
@@massimobernardo- I think we led very different lives back then
They even make an American version where you get into the C5 on the left side.
On the left side of what?
@@wanderer1955 On the left side of the space around it.
@@berner Doesn't the driver sit in the centre?
Love how they bang on about Lotus and aerodynamics..... for a vehicle that does just 15mph.
I think my brother did the best thing at the time, and just got himself a Lotus instead
They did a lot of wind tunnel testing, even at 15 mph drag can be an issue.
Jeremy clarkson
The only insurance you need with this thing is life insurance. Get in a collision and it's game over.
and yet still strangely safer then those scooters idiots use theses days.
Buhahahaha
Safer than a traditional safety bicycle, which is higher up and has exposed wheels in the front and back, as long as you have a good visibility flag.
I think you mean death or burial insurance like you see on US late-night TV...
Errr but he said it's "extremely safe"! He wouldn't lie about that!
RIP Sinclair,you were 30 years ahead of your time.
Use it in heavy traffic. Imagine that on the North Circular.
If it was upscaled a bit for today it would maybe work.It beat the Twizzy to market by decades!Thanks for having a go Sir Clive and thanks for the ZX Spectrum which was damn awesome!
So much safety here
I love that with all the “tech”, they had to stick their arm out to signal a lane change! I guess a blinking yellow light was out of scope?
at the end, it was explained to be an extra kit, just like a second battery
It would be an optional add on. Kinda like indicators on BMW cars.
@@hikaru9624 Or taxis 🤣
Indicator lights were an optional extra. I suppose you could argue that they should have been fitted as standard. Anyway, it’s all academic now…
"plenty of space for your purchases..." YEA if your buying a SINGLE book!
+danz409 This vehicle was truely ahead of its time ("Right idea, wrong time') The boot as you can see is generously sized and was so well designed you could have possibly carried alot more on a conventional bike with pannier bags (and even a back pack) No need to buy books as everyone in the future will have a single small flat screened electronic device called a 'kindle' which will have the ability to display ''electronic books' which are 'downloaded' to the device and then read on its screen from a electronic network called 'the internet'. This global electronic network will carry visual and audio information that can be accessed from computers ( or other portable electronic devices with screens either by way of a cable connection or a 'wireless connection'
+Sancho O'Dell Actually come to think of it, even a lightweight vehicle must by necessity carry batteries orders of magnitude higher in capacity than my phone, tablet and even laptop, so the trike can keep my gadgets topped up with only an imperceptibly tiny impairment to the range.
Are most books 7 inches thick?
Around twenty cans of beer can fit in the boot.
@@cassius2k Yes it can just about cope with 20 cans of beer on board ( but don't over do it with the sherry!)
They used to use these on big tanker ships to ferry crew about the deck, worked quite well and beats walking. I have actually used one, even now, 30 years later, it still looks futuristic. The fact that it couldnt be seen by lorry drivers (even with the stupid `mast` they were forced to include) and the complete lack of any protection probably killed it. The batterys wernt that great either. There are people who have upgraded theirs with petrol engines or modern battery-motor combos to get more range and speed out of them.
The interesting thing about the c5 is that if it was successful, sir clive had a larger model and a frigging electric aircraft on the drawing board, how awsome would that have been?
It, like everything else Sinclair, was built on the cheap so whatever good ideas were in the design were lost on the impractical and potentially unsafe production unit.
@@martinusher1 To be fair, it's main flaw was being an electric bike before lithium ion took off and really got cheap. The bigger the bike the less range the battery would have gotten it, and it was basically as lite as it could possibly be for range.
Lol!! Electric aircraft. Imagine the battery not charging properly. You realised when you are plummeting to Earth at breakneck speed. One heck of a way to find out😳
@@wanderer1955 iirc he thought of that and incorporated a ballistic parachute. As the commenter above says, the main problem was the design was ahead of its time and battery tech just wasn't good enough or light enough. I think had he built it today it would work pretty good although a drone form factor with ducted fans would be far better and more practical with its VTOL capabilities.
@@meetoo594 I guess as fossil fuel runs out its either battery planes or no planes. Thousands of years ago it was horse and cart. Flame for light etc etc. Then came Technology and fossils fuel driven motors and power stations. Then the fossil fuel runs out and we are back to square one with horse and cart and flame for light again.
The birth of the mobility scooter...
Traffic compatible ...
Like hedgehogs.
This was the Segway of the 80's.
*hoverboard
Though practically nobody bought it.
@@user-yv2cz8oj1k So, just like the Segway.
The C5 was such a gamble. It didn't catch on, it was sneered at, but could equally have been an incredible success. Thanks for posting the video!
It was just two small on the road, imagine being in traffic with land rovers, trucks and lorries, they are hardly going to see you.
did everyone get that it is safe?...
Safe and Stable! Sounds like a Theresa May talking point
Strangely safer then a scooter.
Just as it looks
Today we call them recumbent e-trike's. The idea was way ahead of its time.
"safe" meanwhile rear mirrors to see a truck behind you are optional
Hoover Service gets a mention - I used to work for Hoover, I used to work in the Techinical service area, and we produced service manuals and parts lists for the C5, remember walking around the assembly factory at Merthyr
Tonight we lost a pioneer in technology. Sir Clive Sinclair died today at age 81.
He will be remember for quite some time for all his inventions and boundary-pushing mindset.
missed he should have lived to 150
On one hand, I think "Wow, Clive Sinclair was really ahead of his time", then on the other hand, I think C5 was such a failure and considered such a joke that it probably in the long term set electric vehicles back.
Well, no, the C5 lost millions for Sinclair and, along with the failed QL, meant that Sinclair had to sell the company to Amstrad. Sinclair's losses in 1985 were enormous.
It was supposed to sell 40,000 vehicles. But due to delays and bad design flaws, it was only sold for 5 months. The plant in Wales was shut down and Sinclair both lost their vehicle division and were sold to Amstrad. All in one and a half years.
They already had electric vehicles this was just a toy
@@ButterfatFarms the idea of mass electric vehicles was absolutely ahead of its time, we're not even quite there yet 40 years later.
No mirrors, no indicators, no seatbelt, no protective cover... Yeah, that'll work.
There are mirrors and indicators! and remember, this is 1985. It’s more like a scooter than a car.
@@moow950 Those were extra, for safety.
you do know its classed as an ebike right they still sell them
No different to a bike !
Or even a much recommended use of a helmet. This scooter is no different than a small motorcycle which helmets are a must. Even today helmets are required by law for even simple bicycles. And the C5 was aimed at roads with regular traffic commute of cars and trucks!
Did it occur to anybody back then -before or after production- to suggest the use of a helmet with that thing!? So much planing behind this vehicle and not once during the infomercial is the use of a helmet seen or even mentioned. So much for "safety".
RIP Sir Clive Sinclair…
A nice pack of lipos and a brushless 150cc equivalent motor from Hobbyking will have it sorted.
You can drive it right through your front door and it will Hoover your carpets.👍
Thank you for posting. Amazing.
It’s so _Look Around You_ and I love it :-)
Bring back the 80’s. Look how nicer everything looks. Back when we used to make our own things in our own country.
Yeah right. Loser.
Sinclair was 30 years a head of his time, make the same vehicule now with lithium batteries, GPS, ABS, airbags, and you have a successful model !
No all of that would mean the manufacturer loses even MORE money than Sinclair did decades ago...This product failed for much more reasons than just a crappy battery, no ABS brakes and no air bags.
A roof, a seatbelt, a windshield...
@@AntoRetroGamer and a cellphone charger...
"No better way to get road sense..." You would get a ton of road sense when a car ran into your face. lol
Seems like a cool concept, it was just ahead of its time.
Yo yo I’m back again this product is sensationally sensational from big Nigel narrating just utter class
such ample boot space, she barely got her jar of marmalade and denture cream in it. I especially loved the stressing of the handbook, in association with
the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents
IKR ?? loool
5:42 looks like a young tony blair being followed closely behind by wife cherie.
Imagine what you would look like after being hit by a Hummer!
No brake lights. Even the side mirrors and turn signals were optional!
Yeah, very safe indeed... I wonder how many died riding one of these death traps?
Not so many I guess. As only 5.000 were sold..
The Wikipedia of this in the description is pretty cool. They sold for a little under $500 US but someone bought up the new unused ones and sold some of them for $7,000 US. Someone also modified one of these things to go 150mph
Clive Sinclair should have just attached a battery and electric motor to a bike...It would have offered everything that the C5 was bringing to the table and had much more chance of making a profit.
He did something similar to that in the 90s. A motorised belt that clamped tightly onto the top of the rear tyre. It was a flawed concept and it flopped. If it rained there wasn't enough friction to grip the tyre.
mookixox there is the new A bike electric from Sinclair
He did four versions of it. He had the Zike which was a electric bicycle. Then the Zeta which was a motor on the rear wheel which was very heavy as the battery was inside it. Then the Zeta II which goes on the front wheel but the battery was in a bag which was strapped to the bike frame. Zeta III which was both combined but with a front light. He did invent the A-bike which was a folding bike, wheels too small and still being copied around the world.
Battery technology probably wasn't far enough for that back then. Nowadays I could easily see him hop in/innovate the e-bike market (bikes with electrical aid motors)
Or a car
wow, very cool ad! I just watched a video where they restored and rode two of these.
Picked up my car from the local garage today after some work done on it, and guess what was sitting in the garage, a real life c5... Never expected to see one of those today ...
thanks for sharing
Mr Sinclair was a real genius!
I'd love to have one of these. They look absolutely fantastic.
Sorry for my english ! I'm french : It's great to pay homage to Sir Clive Sinclair. Very nice . A funny inventor, always in constant search of new inventions.😄👍
And all of them naff.
They're a good design and nice to use now and then for leasurely purposes only but not one to use on a main road with heavy traffic. Its probably nice in sunny weathers going along a paved beach front by the seaside. And thats just about it..
Designed by lotus, shell built by Hoover, 250 watt motor.
Being assisted via pedals and low speed it avoids needing road tax, insurance licensing and annual testing.
Ahead of its time, similar battery bikes are being sold today
must never rain in the UK.
The Sinclair C5 was basically a children's toy car marketed for commuters. If he'd made it look like a racing car and painted it yellow, it would've sold by the thousands.
Its funny how they just didn't mind to wait for good weather when they filmed the scenes in the UK.
What if there is no good weather in UK? ;)
yes, would be rather a long wait
There is no good weatherin the uk ever and i mean ever
We have good weather, just we actually have seasons unlike the places where the lizard people live. 🤣
@@user-yv2cz8oj1k then why the weather says it is raining now and the whole week in london it is june
It’s the year 2020 I would totally rock one of these in Portland
RIP Clive Sinclair
*Right before this video, CZcams played an ad for a 21 MPG 4-door hatchback elevated for all terrains being driven by a lone driver who's not carrying cargo nor going off road. PROGRESS!*
It made a little more sense 30+ years ago when traffic was light, we didn't fully understand the impact of engine fumes to health and live was generally a little slower and more polite... the materials and moldings at the time were also relatively cutting edge for this purpose... in some utopia where infrastructure and other personal vehicles did not already exist, this could of worked if matured... sadly the dream being sold was just that.
This was great to see.
What a shame these never took off with the public. I only ever saw one on the roads. :(
I think its kind of cool. Way ahead of its time, of course. Sir Clive Sinclair not only did this, but he was also designing tiny flat screen TVs before its time as well.
He was definitely a genius. RIP Sir Clive.
Sinclair C5 is a beautiful dream!
im looking to buy now and upgrade with proper motor and litium battery.
UPDATE: i did and its wonderful
Sinclair was ahead of his time.
The repeated use of the word "safe" is really amusing
Every time I watch the part with the blue background I fucking weep for the sheer beauty of it
Forget the C5, does anyone know where can I get one of those DIVINE windcheaters?
Yes, cu*ts 'R' us.
Fantastic car, yes it's flawed but it was a first, it could have gotten the ball rolling and we might have been 15 years further with the development of electric cars.. instead the lack of supports and interest means we're years behind what we should have been. Plus it's not fit for the road so use it on the path like all theses speedy mobility scooters that bash into me. Sinclair will always be a genius, a miss understood genius.
There were electric bikes and scooters around at the time and earlier as well. Electric vehicles go back 160 years. The over-hyped promise of the C5 was that it was going to be an actual car at a price of (I think it was) 399 Pounds, which was extremely affordable. The eventual product was just a plastic single seater go-kart and was universally panned. I was around at the time and it was just very disappointing when it was finally displayed. The only serious impediment and development-issue in electric vehicle production (apart from the price of oil) is the battery technology, and I'm afraid Sinclair and the C5 contributed nothing in that regard. It was just a standard lead acid battery.
Just as an example, look up General Motors Urban Electric Car on Google to see what others were doing in the previous decade and why people expected a lot more from the C5.
+robaxx gotta say mate, I was about when this came out, and the only electric vehicles about were milk floats...
i wouldn't go as far as that lol but your right about it could of been! what i mean is mate is in Amsterdam they have lanes for bikes because there is loads of them on bikes and bikes & trailers and carriages for kids etc and if the uk government had of put cycle lanes in years ago i reckon these things would of sold like mad lol
i don't cycle myself but their are thousands that do lol never mind the hover board or sedge way thing lol if the mony came in then it would of been nice to see them evolve.
@@robax Yeah but despite all that. It did come with a 'large capacity boot' so you could easily do the shopping trip in it. More than enough space to fit a expanded bumper edition book on Irish Cuisine or famous Jewish athletes!
I now want a C5.
Now that Dyson is the cutting edge design in vacuums, Dyson needs to go at this concept again. Now we have lithium power, LED lighting, and brushless motors. Downside is the plastic things break easily, it would have to have a suspension and rear-end.
Especially like the Add-ons... pedal generator... ashtrays and drinks holders... GPS etc...
RIP Sir Clive Sinclair 🙏
You were really ahead of your time!!
I Just sold my one,
it was great fun but need the space, so nice to have owned one a piece of
history. I use to just sit and look at it with a cup of tea sad OK but it was
great looking. Garage seems empty not without it, but that was the Why I sold
it but I miss it being there LOL
I'm sold!
This thing seriously looks great! I wish I could find one but unfortunately their worth a lot of money!
Sir Clive had once owned a Bond Bug hence it's similar shape. I remember watching Comet sales assistants in Harrogate, North Yorkshire drive around town in a group of three around April 85 desperate to sell these things as no one would have one at £400. Think they went for as little as £125 towards the end. They were low down as I found out once while out on my bike, one whizzed out in front of me. But I was never aware of heard of accidents.
I know this is a genuine C5 advert but when they advised the service to be done by Hoover, I did choke on my British tea and have to double check this wasn’t a spoof!😅
Mad English professor who's ahead of his time , what a genius.🙌🙌
"The Sinclair C5 is a battery - vehicle is an optional extra."
Looks like a great car.
These are awesome, I intend to build a faster and more powerful version.
Going to be hard! Not a whole bunch of room on board. I assume, bigger motor, bigger battery, different breaking system with hydraulics.
Makes me think of this one we have in europe: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CityEl
Soo how is the c5-2 going?
Yo you ever make it? I wanna commit the weirdest bank robbery in history.
So you're building a car...
Way ahead of his time Mr Clive. A true revolutionary. What I would like to see is this re-imagined using modern materials and technology. In this age where the Segway is an accepted mode of transport, surely something like this would be more acceptable.
Battery & motor technology is far more advanced.
We will progress to something like this, & that day is coming sooner, as petrol driven cars become less affordable to run.
They have made a modern updated C5. It's called an e bike. And an e bike is much better than any C5.
The fact that they say how safe it is reminds me of how scientologists repeatedly say that they're not in a cult, or how Amway repeatedly says they're not a pyramid scheme. The lady doth protest too much methinks.
Insane. I'd sooner ride a skateboard on a Los Angeles highway during rush hour than get into one of these.
The silliest, dopeyest vehicle imaginable - especially in England where it often rains. And, knowing Clive Sinclair's penchant for selling stuff made from dodgy parts, probably good for only a few month's use.
Due to clima change it rains not anymore so often in UK. Further the C5 is more comfortable as a bike.
You can get her up to 30 MPH now a days. I would raise up the handlebars and the mirrors and add a radio.
How on earth did Clive think this would be a success?
Absolutely barmy in the best way. Godspeed, Sir Clive. 🙏💕
I think Dick Emery ( ask yer grandad) based his DIY character on Clive Sinclair. Hilarious 😂
good video. one of the originals for the vehicle
That motor looks just like the one in Mum's old "Electra" ( Philips ) AWB 82 automatic washer ! It was a "Permag" motor and was made by Polymotore Italia from memory. I must be getting to be a sad old git...LOL.
Knowing Sinclair mostly from his computers I wouldn't be too amazed if it actually was a washing machine motor to begin with. Possibly slightly modified or customized, but something very close to being a standard component.
Don’t miss that British weather
Because this was Sinclair's dream and it was going to get released no matter how impractical or how unlikely to turn a profit.
As for the QL like most most of Sinclair's products it was done on the cheap and corners were cut where possible. It was heavily delayed and the major order from ICL was late to the point where ICL were considering suing Sinclair. It's hard to push a product when the product in question barely exists in alpha but little things like that never stopped Sinclair.
SINCLAIR Vehicles, ahead of modern electro vehicles!
If the handlebars where in a more conventional place, these would sell so well these days!
+StealthyMonk Well ride it on the pavement like they do mobility scooter. The C5 was so ahead of it's time, flawed yes but had he got the support we might be 15 years further with the development of electric cars.
+MephProduction too fast to legally ride on the pavement
It's legally a bicycle, so you can ride it where you can ride bikes, so not pavements, although plenty of bikes do! But if you have cycle paths you can use them, although sometimes they end and require a 90 degree turn, which is challenging on cycle path when the turning circle is probably worse than a Mini! I think they are probably safer than bicycles, as long as you ensure you are visible, people see them so rarely they don't know how big they are, they look much wider than bikes, so people give a lot more room when overtaking. I had no problems driving mine in 30 & 40 limits. Also, bicycles are not legally required to go along the edge of the road, so you can ride in the middle of the lane so people don't try and squeeze past, but as I said, usually they give much more space than to a cyclist.
Ahead of its time. Funny how people would be all over these now lol