Initially, there were several different types of “invalid carriage” (small single-seater vehicles designed for use by disabled drivers) available in Britain, but the government wanted a standard design.
AC (of Cobra fame) came up with the Model 70, designed to use Fiat running gear. Fiat were reluctant to provide powerplants, so the engine from the Austrian-built Fiat 500 was used instead – a Steyr-Puch air-cooled flat twin of 493cc and 20bhp.
Around 18,000 were built between 1972 and 1977, with AC and Invacar Ltd (based in Thundersley, Essex) building half of that total each.
Invacar Ltd was run by the same people who built the Greeves motorcycles, and this company built the very first Invacar in 1948.
The little blue (they were all blue) fibreglass three-wheelers were all owned by the government and leased to disabled drivers in the UK as part of their disability benefit. The disabled drivers were not required to take a driving test to drive one.
The Invacar was a familiar sight on Britain’s roads in the 1960s and 1970s and became a common sight at football matches in the UK as they were permitted to park on the pitch.
After pressure from Graham Hill and others, the scheme was ended in 1977 on safety grounds (they had very little crash protection and were quite unstable).
It finally became illegal to drive an Invacar on UK roads on 31 March 2003. All Invacars were recalled and scrapped.
Related Posts
Leyland P76 The controversial Leyland P76 was introduced in Australia in 1973 but ceased production in 1975 after less than two years…
Outspan (Orange) Mini The Outspan Orange car was shaped like an orange, had orange skin-textured fibreglass bodywork, and looked like an orange but…
Hovercraft The hovercraft was invented by British boat builder Christopher Cockerell in 1955. The theory behind one of the most successful…
Space Shuttle Plans for the Space Shuttle were created in 1972 as a way to keep the cost of spaceflight down. The…
Concorde The first supersonic airliner Concorde began transatlantic flights from London to New York on 24 May 1976. The new aircraft…
Raleigh Grifter Launched in 1976, the Raleigh Grifter became the ultimate 1980s bike - chunky and funky with throttle-style hand-twist gears. This…
Raleigh Chopper In 1888, Sir Frank Bowden's doctor told him that cycling could improve his health. He bought an interest in a…
Panel Vans (Australia) Fanned by the flames of the wild American custom vans, the van craze spread throughout the western world in the…
AC (of Cobra fame) came up with the Model 70, designed to use Fiat running gear. Fiat were reluctant to provide powerplants, so the engine from the Austrian-built Fiat 500 was used instead – a Steyr-Puch air-cooled flat twin of 493cc and 20bhp.
The Invacar was a familiar sight on Britain’s roads in the 1960s and 1970s and became a common sight at football matches in the UK as they were permitted to park on the pitch.
