User:TheFearow/Enfield 8000

Greek-developed 1973 Enfield-Neorion E 8000 Bicini (jeep version of the original British car)

The Enfield 8000 was a 2-seater battery-electric city car, introduced in 1971 and originally built in the United Kingdom by Enfield Automotive. The company was acquired by the Greek Neorion company and production was transferred to the Greek island of Syros (it thus became part of a new Greek company, Enfield-Neorion, headquartered in Piraeus). The car had a top speed of around 40 mph, and a range of 30–35 miles. Ironically, it could not be legally sold in Greece, 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, no permit was issued for its mass production, due to tax categorization issues connected with its electric power.

ENFIELD 8000 - UPDATED COMMENTS FROM USER CONSTANTINE ADRAKTAS - 11 AUGUST 2007

ENFIELD AUTOMOTIVE and its ENFIELD 8000 Electric cars

Enfield Automotive was created in the United Kingdom in the 60s. Prior to the Enfield 8000 Electric City Car ( known as the E8000ECC ), Enfield Automotive developed Electric Passenger Vehicles of unacceptable performance and safety standards, according to the Electricity Council and MIRA, with bodies made of Fibreglass and ABS plastic ( the Enfield 465 ).

This contribution is based on:

( A ) The original of the Electricity Council – Enfield Automotive contract, negotiated and signed in January 1973 by the 1969 to 1975 Chairman cum Managing and Technical Director of Enfield Automotive, after the E8000ECC passed rigorous tests at MIRA (the Motor Industry Research Association) including crash (to see a live crash test go to BBC on the Internet, search for Reva Electric Car and you will see a link for a relevant video) and pave tests, was aerodynamically tested in Farnborough and was driven around Chester for five days by relevant Electricity Council Research Centre (ECRC) members.

Following the signing of the above mentioned contract, the E8000ECC was driven around London by Lord Rothschild, Head of the Think Tank of the British Government's Cabinet Office and was commended in writing by him personally.

( B ) Articles from the United Kingdom and International press ( Financial Times, The London Times, Time magazine, the London Evening Standard etc ).

( C ) Copies of some of the Enfield Automotive files, in the possession of its 1969 - 1975 Chairman.

Enfield Automotive and the E8000ECC were moved away from the United Kingdom to the Greek island of Syros during the oil crisis 'of 1973. There was "no obvious" business reason to have them move away from the United Kingdom, a car producing country, which had, also, supplied Enfield Automotive and the E8000ECC with a unique start up contract, to Greece, a country without a car production infrastructure whatsoever (see below paragraph starting with "Then came the Oil crisis of 1972 ... ".

The E8000ECC could have been produced in the UK or any other country with an advanced Motor Industry infrastructure, like the USA , with a genuine "Greek island experiment" on the side, if the financier was keen and sincere to put Greece on the Electric Car producing countries map.

The key characteristics of the E8000ECC were:

( 1 ) The range of the E8000ECC was between 50 to 90 miles, depending on the number of stops and starts, terrain gradients, number of passengers, battery condition etc.

The E8000ECC with License plate number VDL 856K has been driven in London (between Mayfair and the City, visiting friends, going to the theatre and to restaurants etc – every aspect of a daily life routine) for four consecutive years and its range was logged daily. The practical range of the E8000ECC was substantially greater than the one quoted above, if it were “plugged in” during the day, anywhere one would park and a simple electricity socket was available, as the car had a built – in on - board charger. If the E8000ECC was still alive today, it would enjoy two important benefits the current Mayor of London,Mr.Livingstone, has given to Electric Cars:

( a ) Charging sockets on Parking Meters.

( b ) No Levy for entering into Central London ( applicable to Internal Combustion Engine cars).

( 2 ) The top speed of the E8000ECC was between 70mph and 80mph , depending on the number of passengers and the condition of the batteries.

A speed of over 60mph was achieved by Lord Weinstock, the creator and Chairman of GEC (General Electric Company, UK), as he was attempting to get a speeding ticket for the E8000ECC, in Park Lane, Mayfair, London. A police car accosted him with the policemen looking in curiously, as the E8000ECC was silent as well. No speeding ticket was issued!

( 3 ) The Enfield 8000 was a 2 + 2 seater car, for 2 people in the front individual seats and 2 more on the bench seat at the back.

( 4 ) The "Bikini" was an E8000ECC with a body composed of simple and flat panels. It was never "crash tested", hence it could not obtain a certificate of roadworthiness.

Furthermore the Bikini did not have a range of 120 to 140 Kilometres, that is 75 to 87 Miles, as the Commercial brochure posted claims.

( a ) If the above were true then the Enfield 8000 would have had a much higher range than 75 to 87 Miles, as having a by far lower Aerodynamic coefficient (hence more efficient use of the batteries capacity) than that of the Bikini.

( b ) The text, however, adjacent to the Commercial brochure, states that the range of the Enfield 8000 was less than half of that for the Bikini, namely, between 35 and 40 Miles!

( 5 ) The reason for the elimination of the Enfield 8000 (the E8000ECC's various versions were based , simply, on different bodies added to the same chassis and all other components and systems – all developed in the UK) is not that “no permit was issued for its mass production, due to tax categorization issues connected with its electric power”, for it to have been produced in Syros, Greece.

Those were the days of the Greek Military Junta which was very keen to issue any permits whatsoever that would give them worldwide visibility, like the first ever mass production of an Electric Car in the World. Furthermore the Junta was very close to the London based Greek owners of Enfield Automotive, Enfield - Neorion, Neorion and N.J.Goulandris, the latter being the source for all the other companies. As a matter of fact, one of the top Greek Junta members, Mr.Constandopoulos, became the Managing Director of Enfield - Neorion.

Moreover:The E8000ECC had passed all the necessary tests for production in the United Kingdom and was on its way to be produced in the United States of America. The latter courtesy of President Reagan, then Governor of California, who sent a cargo plane to have three E8000ECCs moved to California in support of his Clean Air legislation. Prior to the 1973 Oil crisis, the Oil companies, supported by the Car companies were doing their best to have the E8000ECC eliminated. Especially after the Electricity Council – Enfield Automotive contract was signed in January 1973 and that contract was followed by many other contracts around the world (example: from Lead producers in Australia, from a new town developer in Catalina, California etc ).

Prior to the Oil crisis of 1973, the Chairman of Enfield Automotive and Aristotle Onassis, still owner of Olympic Airways, were ready to conclude a very interesting deal. A company with the name of OLYMPIC - ENFIELD were to be formed to:

( a ) Use the E8000ECC and its Summer version (not the Bikini) in the airports OA was operating in.

( b ) Rent out both cars above, firstly to OA clients and then to the general public.

Then came the Oil crisis of 1973 which, in a very short period, saw a “parking lot” of Tankers stretched from the port of Piraeus to the Isthmus of Corinth. At that point the Enfield 8000 moved away from a “car producing – car components producing – relevant labour availability” country (UK) to a Greek island with none of the above but an unstable shipyard owned by the Enfield Automotive financier. None of the 60 Tankers, owned by the parent company of Enfield Automotive, joined the above mentioned “parking lot”. The Enfield 8000 was removed from UK and not only.

Numerous attempts to have the design and Enfield Automotive/Enfield – Neorion bought, so that the car can move on to mass production, were ignored, not even examined. One of the offers was from the United States of America. So the Oil and Car lobby versus the Enfield 8000 confrontation was won by the said lobby. A confrontation on the lines of the film "Who killed the Electric Car?".(www.sonyclassics.com/whokilledtheelectriccar/electric.html)

After a few years and once the Enfield 8000 was unceremoniously buried in Syros and the Greek Military Junta collapsed, the 1969 to 1975 Chairman of Enfield Automotive met with Constantine Caramanlis, the Greek Prime Minister to discuss ways of resurrecting the Enfield 8000. In vain, as the owners would not (and by that time, probably, could not) break their undertaking with the Oil companies, an undertaking that provided them with long term Oil Transportation contracts in exchange for them eliminating the Enfield 8000 from the face of the earth. The rest of the Greek Shipowners had their Tankers parked in the Piraeus to Corinth cemetery.

30 years later, the 1969 - 1975 Chairman of Enfield Automotive met with John Goulandris:

( a ) He said "We made a big mistake not continuing with the E8000ECC or finding a way to sell the company and your design to you and the Anglo - American supporters of yours, somehow behind the back of the Oil companies, Imagine where the E8000ECC would be today!"

( b ) And he asked "What did the people in Syros did to your design and the Range of the car dropped dramatically. Did they change the Control System? We had a lot of complaints from the Electricity Council"

One distinct difference between the E8000ECC and the Enfield models preceding it (and, maybe, the ones handled by Syros), was that:

(a) The E8000ECC was using 12 Volt batteries, 8 of them, organised in 2 groups of batteries. The batteries in each group were connected in Series (Voltage was 48 Volts per group) and the 2 groups of batteries were connected in Parallel, hence the total Voltage was still 48 Volts.

(a) above, was one but not the only reason, the range of the E8000ECC was superior to the range of other Enfields.

(b) Previous models, however, were using 8 batteries of 6 Volts each connected in Series, hence the total Voltage was, again, 48 Volts.

( 6 ) Additional characteristics of the E8000ECC and its direct derivatives.

( 6.1 ) Aluminium body of Rolls Royce standards – against corrosion.

( 6.2 ) Rolls Royce interior standards (leather etc).

( 6.3 ) Turning circle same as the traditional London cab.

( 6.4 ) Although more Aerodynamic than the Porsche (confirmed by relevant above mentioned test), it had the same ease of “going in – coming out” as that of a London cab. The Aerodynamics of the E8000ECC were not based in traditional Motor Industry principles and ideas but rather on principles and ideas carried over from the MIT Aeronautics department and its involvement in the Apollo programme.

( 6.5 ) It was based on commercially available components and parts, for easy maintenance and worldwide replacement availability.

( 6.6 ) No gear lever – Automatic with the reverse via a simple switch (The E8000ECC had a series of shunts to vary the voltage in steps).

( 6.7 ) A built in on – board charger.

( 6.8 ) It was dangerously silent, as people sometimes cross a street relying on the absence of car noise.

( 6.9) The E8000ECC was Ecologically friendly not only because it was not emitting gasses and noise onto the Atmosphere but also because it was not heating the Atmosphere (Global Warming) unnecessarily, thanks to its Aerodynamics.

Special tribute to Messrs John Ashby (Chief of the Design Department) and Carolos Balian (Control System), whose contributions in the development of the E8000ECC were crucial.

Many of the photographs posted previously, are from the private collection of the company’s 1969 – 1975 Chairman and you can find more photographs, worldwide E8000ECC user messages etc in a Yahoo Groups site of the Enfield Electric Cars fans. ("autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/enfieldelectriccars").

A copy of the Electricity Council - Enfield Automotive January 1973 contract can be posted on this site or a different site or can be e-mailed to you upon request. Constantine Adraktas 18:06, 11 August 2007 (UTC)

NEWS FLASH - REVIVAL OF THE ENFIELD ELECTIC CITY CAR?

If the E8000ECC had survived the indirect effect of the 1973 Oil crisis, then:

(1) It would have been using Lithium Ion Batteries (unsafe then), in a pack half the size of the then E8000ECC batteries.

(2) It would have using in - wheel Electric Motors which leave the space previously occupied by the conventional engine and drive train for additional battery capacity and amenities (not proven then).

(3) It would have been using Modern and Integrated control systems.

And, mainly, because of (1) above:

(A) It would have a Range of over 2O0 Miles.

(B) It could have a Top Speed of 120 Miles per Hour (for traveling outside the city, on the Motorway).

A pivotal meeting has been arranged for the revival of the Enfield Electric City Car, along the above mentioned lines. Constantine Adraktas 07:49, 26 August 2007 (UTC)

Does that mean that it might be coming back into production, or it was once planned to come back into production? Matt/TheFearow (Talk) (Contribs) (Bot) 08:06, 26 August 2007 (UTC)

There was no plan whatsoever to revive the Enfield 8000. I am looking into reviving it with the addition of 1.2 and 3 above, as I have had relevant approaches from a prominent Russian billionaire (Aluminium, cars etc) and, also, from American and London based investors. Constantine Adraktas 16:24, 27 August 2007 (UTC)