Sinclair X-1 – Son of C5 Coming to a Street Near You Soon!

Sir Clive Sinclair did a great job with the ZX-80 and 81, the Spectrum, Spectrum+ and the fantastic Spectrum 128 – but the C5 didn’t do too well.

The British entrepreneur is looking at redressing this by having another stab at creating a lightweight, cheap, powered vehicle – The X-1

The X-1 seems to share a fair amount of DNA with the 1985 flop but Sir Clive has this time included a reclining nylon seat and a waterproof acrylic bubble to keep the driver/rider dry.

The X-1 pootles along thanks to an MCR pancake motor which works in a similar fashion to the motors used in floppy disk drives.

Power is provided by pedals and a lightweight, rechargeable 24V lithium polymer battery pack so I’m guessing that drag-racing a mountain bike, pedestrians and even some small children is out.

From what I can make out it’s probably less safe than the C5. If it is as slow as I think it’ll be – combine that with its 209cm by 140cm by 69cm size, skinny wheels and no lights front or back then I’ll stick to walking or buy myself an Easy Glider or perhaps a Yike and look cooler.

To its advantage the X-1 doesn’t require a driving licence, insurance or road tax to operate it. Its makers also claim it can be driven by anyone in the UK aged 14 years or older both on the road and on pavements.

Now – that cool factor, or rather lack of, may prevent hip and happenin’ kids lusting after one of these.

The X-1 goes on sale from July 2011 and will cost around £595 – UK dwellers may get it at half-price thanks to the government-run cycle to work scheme.

Sinclair Research is taking pre-orders on its website now and there’s also a video of it in action.

Check it out here and then let me know whether you’re tempted or not.