Enfield 8000
The Enfield 8000 was a 2-seater battery-electric city car, introduced in 1973 and originally built on the Isle of Wight in the United Kingdom by Enfield Automotive, under the ownership of Greek millionaire Giannis Goulandris. 120 cars were built in the UK, of which 65 were used by the Electricity Council and various Electricity Boards in the south of England. Powered by an 8 bhp (6 kW) electric motor and lead-acid batteries, the car had a top speed of around 48 mph (77 km/h), and a range of around 40 miles (64 km). Production came to an end in 1977.
The Enfield 8000 had a tubular chassis frame with aluminium body panels. It used suspension parts from the Hillman Imp, the doors were adapted from the Mini and the rear axle was derived from Reliant three-wheelers.
The company was later incorporated into the Greek Neorion company (also owned by Mr. Goulandris) and production was transferred to the Greek island of Syros (the company having transformed into a new Greek company, Enfield-Neorion, headquartered in Piraeus). Ironically, it could not be legally sold in Greece due to tax categorization issues connected with its electric power, so all production was exported to the United Kingdom (only around 100 were manufactured). Enfield-Neorion developed some vehicles itself in Greece, including a "jeep" version of the 8000 model aiming at the rent-a-car market in the Greek islands. However, for the aforementioned reason, no sales were made in this country.
See also
References
External links
Media related to Enfield 8000 at Wikimedia Commons