Thundersley Invacar

The AC/Thundersley Invacar was a small car specially adapted for use by disabled drivers.

History

In 1948, Bert Greeves adapted a motorbike with the help of his paralysed cousin Derry Preston-Cobb as transport for Derry. Noticing the number of former servicemen injured in the Second World War they spotted a commercial opportunity and, approaching the Government for support, "Invacar Ltd" was created.

During the 1960's and 70's the Invacar with its modern fibreglass shell, ice blue colouring and chain drive were produced in the tens of thousands. Developments including an extended wheelbase, wider track and use of Austin Mini wheels saw the Invacars right through to the end of the final DHSS contract in 1977. Besides Invacar a number of other manufacturers were licensed by the Ministry of Health to produce similar vehicles, including AC Cars Ltd, Thundersley and Tippen.

On 31 March 2003 it became illegal to drive an Invacar on British roads. The veteran vehicle could not stand up to modern day safety standards. There were still around 200 Invacars in Britain prior to the 2003 recall and scrapping program.

All Invacars were owned by the Government and leased to disabled drivers as part of their disability benefit. Their use had been in decline since the introduction of the Motability scheme - offering disabled drivers a conventional car with modified options.

References

* http://www.virtualgaz.co.uk/invacarpage.htm (no longer functional)
* http://pages.zoom.co.uk/elvis/invacar.html