With the public, the Enfield 8000 was an unmitigated flop. For the price of a Rover 2200 here was a tiny utilitarian two-seater with few creature comforts (not even a heater) and that aforementioned goofy cartoon styling that looked either vaguely futuristic or something akin to a government-issue disability vehicle, depending on how favourably disposed you felt towards it.

Goulandris soon moved production to Greece, but there was no market for the car there either, because it didn’t fit into any tax bracket and was deemed illegal. It seems all the 120 cars had their batteries fitted in the Isle of Wight in any event.

Meanwhile, a certain Governor Ronald Reagan was so taken with the Enfield that he offered to subsidise the building of a factory to produce the cars in his clean-air state of California, only to be rebuffed by Goulandris – who, some say, did not want to upset the all-powerful oil companies.

Those days of promise looked a long way off when the Electricity Board cars were sold off in the early '80s. Beyond unfashionable, it seemed then as if the Enfield would sink into obscurity; fuel was relatively cheap and electric vehicles were off the public radar, seemingly for good.

However, the handful of enthusiasts who continued to run their 8000s remained passionate, and must now feel suitably vindicated in their loyalty to this prophetic oddity, given the seismic shift towards electric and hybrid cars in recent years.

I have never driven an Enfield, or even seen one close up but, if I ever do, I will tip my imaginary hat to a brave individualist which the conspiracy theorists claim had even the oil companies worried for a while.

Images: Constantine Adraktas / Skartkis (Creative Commons)

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