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More than 30 years ago one of the UK's biggest technology firms boldly announced a new product that would revolutionise transport.

Their new compact and lightweight electric vehicle was billed as neither car nor bicycle and was said to be an entirely new mode of personal transportation.

The product was named the Sinclair C5 and was developed by Sir Clive Sinclair who had become one of the UK's best-known millionaires thanks to his successful range of affordable home computers produced in the early 1980s.

Given Sir Clive's reputation, and the involvement of Lotus Cars in the design, it was hotly anticipated by many.

Rivals in the motoring industry met the news with surprise and caution in equal measure as they awaited the unveiling of this trailblazing vehicle.

And the whole thing would be built by a group of engineers and production line workers in a humble washing machine factory in Merthyr Tydfil.

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Hoover were contracted to handle the production of the C5 in a deal brokered by the Welsh Development Agency.

The plant in Merthyr was chosen as the base of operations because it had the spare capacity, and low-cost labour, needed to keep budgets as tight as possible.

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Engineer John Power was responsible for putting together the facilities needed to enable the factory to manufacture the C5.

A long-time employee who joined the company as a tool maker in 1959, John said the factory workers thrived on the challenge of developing the product.

"We welcomed the challenge because people that were in the Sinclair organisation at the time, looking after the project, had spent their time in the motor car industry and I think they looked at us as second-class engineers," the 86-year-old said.

"They thought making washing machines was child's play but we more than satisfied their requirements when it came to manufacturing the products."

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John spent 12 months preparing the production line with eight to 10 other engineers at the Hoover factory.

Then the factory began stockpiling the C5s in November 1984 ready for its launch to the press and public in January 1985.

The Sinclair organisation expected the product to fly off the shelves but John and his team had their reservations.

"I had some doubts about it," John said. "I just couldn't see this thing hurtling up and down busy roads.

"We had doubts ourselves about some of the claims that were made about the vehicle. The battery life, for example, we believed was exaggerated – and the speed it could travel."

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The Sinclair C5 was launched at London's Alexandra Palace on January 10, 1985, with characteristic pomp and ceremony.

The company claimed the three-wheel single-seat and pedal-assisted vehicle could travel at 15mph, which would have felt quite fast with its open-top design.

The product, which retailed at £399, was a complete financial failure.

The press unveiling didn't go well. Journalists who trialled the machine found its battery life was short, it struggled with fairly trivial slopes, and it looked, frankly, dangerous.

Many feared its small, plastic, open and low-to-the-ground build could never stand a chance on Britain's roads.

The British Safety Council agreed and, after a test at their headquarters, issued a damning report on the product's safety.

Sales of the C5 were poor from the beginning and after producing just over 10,000 units production at the Hoover factory was wound up before the end of 1985.

Sinclair Vehicles went into receivership and the C5 became a byword for business failure.

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John said to his knowledge everyone on the C5 production line retained their jobs at Hoover.

As one of the team central to the product's development, he was given a free C5 to take home with him but sold it soon afterwards.

Despite its commercial failure the C5 soon developed a degree of cult status among collectors and enthusiasts. With so few manufactured, the vehicles soon began inflating in price and these days sell for rather more than its original retail price. One C5 recently sold for $4,600 at RM Sotheby's.

Shaun Sullivan runs Sullivan's Auctions in Merthyr and recently bought a C5 after finding a perfect example up for sale.

"I always wanted one because they were made in Merthyr when I was growing up in the 1980s," Shaun said.

(Image: Richard Swingler)

"I'm a collector and I have got a 1964 Mini and I've had some other cars. I was interested in the history."

Shaun said he believed the problem with the C5 lay mainly in the timing of the product.

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"I think the idea is sound but the problem was Clive Sinclair was ahead of his time. Within a few years the whole country are going to be driving electric cars," he said.

"It was too small, it was difficult to see, and you couldn't drive it in traffic. It was just a bad product.

"But imagine if it was used en masse today – it would clear out the roads."