1975 ENFIELD 8000 ECC (Electric City Car) history
Born during the 1970s oil crisis, British motorcycle company Enfield set up an eco car company on the Isle of Wight headed by design engineer John Ackroyd, who was later involved with the ‘Thrust 2’ land speed world record car. Seriously.
Made with an aluminium bodyshell and steel space frame (the same as Aston Martins of that time!), the rear wheel drive 8000 had its own on-board charger, run-flat tyres and even a heated windscreen.
Although it nicked a lot of bits from existing cars of its time like the headlights (Allegro), front suspension and steering (Hillman Imp), the Enfield cost two and a half times more than a Mini. Oh dear.
Its 1.72-metre wheelbase was 31cm shorter than the original Mini. Titchy dimensions and a 8hp 48-volt 6kW electric motor with 8 lead acid batteries made it the perfect city car. The Enfield could do up to 55 miles and max out at 40mph.
120 Enfield 8000s were made, 60 of which were purchased by the British Electricity Council as pool cars. My car is chassis number 003 and was supplied new to SEEBOARD (South East Electricity) in the Brighton area. Around 30 exist worldwide now.
ORIGINAL ENFIELD 8000 TECH SPEC
BODYSHELL: Handbuilt aluminium two-seater
CHASSIS: Square-section tubular steel space frame
SUSPENSION: Coil-over McPherson strut front, four-link Reliant rear axle
MOTOR: 8hp / 6kw / 150amps
WHEELS: 10-inch Mini wheels
BRAKES: Mini front, Reliant rear drums
BATTERIES: 8 x 12v 55-amp hour lead acid batteries
TOP SPEED: 40mph
PERFORMANCE: Erm. Well, 0-30mph in 12.5 seconds
RANGE: 35-55 miles, depending on climate and quantity of hills
WEIGHT: 975kg (a lot for such a midget – 308kg was batteries)
LENGTH: 2.84m / 112″ (a Mini was 3.05m / 120″)
WHEELBASE: 1.725m / 68″ (a Mini was 2.04m / 80.3″)
FUEL: 240v mains Economy Seven
The Flux Capacitor (e)mission statement was to resurrect a forgotten British electric relic and drag (race) it into the 21st century using modern leccy technology.
Why? To be Europe’s fastest street legal electric vehicle. It was never going to be the prettiest.
It took 18 months to find this flood damaged car and three years to transform from 6kW city car into 600kW silent-but-violent midget.
Hyperdrive Innovation built the lithium-ion battery pack and battery management system to fit under the bonnet. The latter keeps the cells balanced and safe during charge/discharge. A drive-by-wire controller (like an ECU) is mounted under the passenger seat which is tuned via laptop, where you can adjust volts (top speed) and amps (torque).
There’s no gearbox. Just squirt and go, as elec motors produce maximum torque from 0 rpm. Perfect for drag racing.
It will get from 0-100mph in about 7 seconds. It’s as fast as many supercars on the quarter mile, despite being stupidly short.
Jonny’s Flux Capacitor is tax exempt, immune from London’s CC and (hopefully) proof that eco cars can charismatically kick some amps.
FLUX CAPACITOR ENFIELD 8000 TECH SPEC
BODYSHELL: Aluminium, painted by
Roadhouseretro.com
in Lambretta GP ‘Yellow Ochre’,
Plastics4Performance
.com Lexan windows, glassfibre moulded bumpers
CHASSIS: Custom roll cage, trans tunnel altered to house twin motors & ‘mini-tubbed’ rear.
SUSPENSION: AVO shocks on Hillman Imp A-arms, rose-jointed four-link rear suspension with narrowed Ford 9-inch LSD axle with 6-inch long (!) prop shaft, removable wheelie bars.
MOTORS: 2 x 9-inch DC Current Racing motors rated for 2000 amps @ 170v, 5500rpm max. No gearbox. Direct drive.
WHEELS: British Wolfrace slot mags refurbished by Wicked Wheels, 12×5″ front, 14×7″ rear
BRAKES: Bespoke front disc conversion with AP Racing calipers by
BG Developments
.
BATTERIES: 144 x 4.2v military grade lithium-ion Kokam ‘pouch’ cells (connected in 2 parallel and 72 series) split into into 3 battery packs. Originally used as engine starter and mini-gun batteries for a Bell SuperCobra attack helicopter. Discharge 378v/1600amps in a 10 second pulse. Battery packs and BMS (Battery Management System) by Hyperdrive Innovation.
PERFORMANCE: 530kW, 1100lb ft+, 700+bhp. 0-60 in 3 seconds. Quarter mile in 11 secs. Top speed 120mph (est), battery range approximately 30 miles (still testing).
WEIGHT: 882kg (minus driver)
FUEL Electricity supplied by npower (240v, 32-amp)
Keyword: Enfield: Background and specifications then and now