Editing Sinclair C5 (section)

===Development and design===

With Sinclair's new specifications in hand, Ogle worked on a three-wheeled design dubbed the C5, which bore similarities with the earlier three-wheeled [[Bond Bug]] – another Ogle design. The vehicle's handlebar steering was the brainchild of Wood Rogers, who decided at the outset that a steering wheel would not be practicable as it would make it impossible for a driver to get in and out easily – a serious safety disadvantage. He comments that "putting the bars at the driver's sides made it easy to steer and felt very natural".<ref name="Burton103">Burton, p. 103</ref> A prototype was presented to 63 families in the [[NRS social grade|A, B, C1 and C2 demographic groups]] in suburban and town environments to determine that the controls were correctly positioned; this was the only external research carried out on the C5.<ref name="Marks1989" /> In the autumn of 1983,<ref name="Marks1989" /> Wills brought in Lotus Cars to finish the vehicle's detailing, build prototypes and test rigs, carry out testing and take forward the programme to production.<ref name="Dale156" /> The development of the C5 took place over 19 months in conditions of great secrecy, with testing carried out at the Motor Industry Research Association's proving ground in [[Leicestershire]].<ref name="Burton102" />

Further aerodynamic refinements were carried out in Exeter with the development of new body shells which produced further reductions in the vehicle's drag. However, it was felt that something was lacking in the design and a 23-year-old industrial designer, Gus Desbarats, was brought in to refine the shell's appearance.<ref name="Dale158">Dale, p. 157</ref> He had won a Sinclair-sponsored electric vehicle design competition at the [[Royal College of Art]] and was hired on his graduation to set up an in-house car design studio at Sinclair's Metalab in Cambridge, of which he became the first employee.<ref name="Gray90">{{cite book|title=Great Brand Blunders|last=Gray|first=Rob|publisher=Crimson Publishing Ltd|date=2014|page=90|location=Bath|isbn=978-1-78059-229-9}}</ref> It was not only Desbarats' first project but, as he later said, "day one of my working life", when he turned up at Sinclair's premises. He was taken aback when he saw the C5 for the first time, as he had been expecting a "proper" electric car. He said later that he thought "the concept looked futuristic but was short on practicality. There were no instruments, nowhere to put anything and no security features." Desbarats told Sinclair that the design would have to be redone from scratch, "asking what we were doing about visibility, rear view mirrors, range indications&nbsp;...".<ref name="Gray91" /> It was far too late for this, however; all the key design decisions had already been made. Desbarats told Sinclair that he would need four months to revisit the design and was given eight weeks instead.<ref name="Times-7-Jan-2005">{{cite news|title=Vision that drove Sinclair to ruins (and nowhere fast)|last=Healey|first=Andrew|work=The Times|page=76|date=7 January 2005}}</ref> He created the styling that was used for the final production model of the C5, with wheel trims and a small luggage compartment being added subsequently.<ref name="Dale158"/> Desbarats was also responsible for the creation of the High-Vis Mast accessory, as he felt uncomfortable being so close to the ground with other drivers potentially not being able to see him.<ref name="Times-7-Jan-2005" /> He later described his contribution as "convert[ing] an ugly pointless device into a prettier, safer, and more usable pointless device".<ref name="Gray93">Gray, p. 93</ref>
[[File:Sinclair C5 motor.jpg|right|thumb|The C5's electric motor, which drives the left-hand rear wheel]]
The chassis of the C5 consists of two identical metal pressings which are joined at top and bottom with a closing plate at the rear. It lacks a separate suspension system, instead relying on the chassis structure having enough torsional flex.<ref name="Dale158"/> Its motor was produced in Italy by Polymotor, a subsidiary of the Dutch company [[Philips]].<ref name="AK188" /> Although it was later said that the C5 was powered by a washing machine motor,<ref>Adamson & Kennedy, p. 189</ref> the motor was in fact developed from a design produced to drive a truck cooling fan. Lotus provided the gearbox and a rear axle based on a design for car steering columns.<ref name="Dale158"/> The C5's electronics were produced by MetaLab, a Sinclair spin-off.<ref name="Dale159" /> The wheels were assembled from tyres made in [[Taiwan]] and wheels from Italy.<ref name="Dale162" /> Oldham Batteries provided a lead–acid battery developed for Sinclair that could manage more than the 300 charge-discharge cycles that had originally been specified.<ref name="Dale158"/>

The bodywork was made from two injection-moulded polypropylene shells supplied by three manufacturers; J.J. Harvey of Manchester made the moulds, [[Linpac]] provided the shells, and [[Imperial Chemical Industries|ICI]] supplied the raw material. According to Rodney Dale, the upper shell mould was "one of the largest – if not the largest – injection mouldings of its type in the UK: possibly even in the world".<ref name="Dale158"/> The manufacturing process reflected Sinclair's ambition for the C5 production line. A single mould set was capable of producing up to 4,000 parts every week. The two parts of the shell were joined by wrapping a tape around the joint, aligning them on a [[Jig (tool)|jig]], pressing them together and passing an electric current through the tape to heat and melt it.<ref name="Dale158"/> The same process was used to make the front and rear bumper assemblies of the [[Austin Maestro]] and only took about 70 seconds to complete.<ref name="Burton103" /> Although Sinclair had considered producing the C5 at the DeLorean plant at [[Dunmurry]] in Northern Ireland, which had one of Europe's most advanced automated plastic-body manufacturing facilities, this did not happen, as the DeLorean Motor Company failed in a controversial bankruptcy that resulted in the plant's closure.<ref name="Dale159" />

Instead, the work of assembling the C5 was given to [[The Hoover Company]] in the spring of 1983. The [[Welsh Development Agency]] (WDA) approached Hoover to ask them if they would be interested becoming the principal subcontractor for Sinclair, "who are working on an electric car, and as a by-product of the research have designed an electrically assisted bicycle. They are looking for a subcontractor to whom they can entrust the assembly."<ref name="Dale161" /> The proposal suited all sides. The WDA was keen to support the Hoover washing machine factory at [[Merthyr Tydfil]], situated in the economically depressed [[South Wales Valleys]]. Hoover was enticed by Sinclair's projections of sales of 200,000 units a year, increasing to 500,000. Sinclair saw Hoover's plant and expertise as a good match for their fabrication techniques. A contract was signed within a few months.<ref name="Dale161">Dale, p. 161</ref>