Scottish Aviation Scamp
Encyclopedia
The Scottish Aviation Scamp is a small
concept
electric city car
that was designed between 1964 and 1966 by Scottish Aviation
.
A prototype, known as "the farm cart" was built which showed promise, accelerating from a standstill to 30 mi/h in ten seconds, giving a top speed of 36 mi/h and a range of 18 miles (29 km) in urban conditions. In July 1965 negotiations took place between the Scottish Aviation and the Central Electricity Generating Board aimed at marketing the car through the boards showrooms. The prototype was further developed with the addition of wood and aluminium bodywork and it was then registered for use on the road. It was successfully demonstrated in London and Bristol and received a great deal of publicity when on one occasion it was driven by the racing driver Stirling Moss
. A further 12 cars were built for testing and the first of these went on show at the Ideal Home Exhibition in February 1967.
The project began to run into difficulties because of an inability to resolve the uneconomic battery life of the Lucas Industries
batteries available at the time. It was cancelled when major weaknesses in the car design were revealed by testing at the Motor Industry Research Association
test track, subjected to the same tests as a conventional car, the suspension eventually broke and the car was claimed to be unroadworthy.
Microcar
A microcar is the smallest automobile classification usually applied to standard small car . Such small cars were generally referred to as cyclecars until the 1940s. More recent models are also called bubblecars due to their egg-shaped appearance.-Definition:The definition of a microcar has varied...
concept
Concept car
A concept vehicle or show vehicle is a car made to showcase new styling and or new technology. They are often shown at motor shows to gauge customer reaction to new and radical designs which may or may not have a chance of being produced....
electric city car
Electric car
An electric car is an automobile which is propelled by electric motor, using electrical energy stored in batteries or another energy storage device. Electric cars were popular in the late-19th century and early 20th century, until advances in internal combustion engine technology and mass...
that was designed between 1964 and 1966 by Scottish Aviation
Scottish Aviation
Scottish Aviation Limited was a Scottish aircraft manufacturer, based at Prestwick in South Ayrshire.-History:Originally a flying school operator the company took on maintenance work in 1938....
.
A prototype, known as "the farm cart" was built which showed promise, accelerating from a standstill to 30 mi/h in ten seconds, giving a top speed of 36 mi/h and a range of 18 miles (29 km) in urban conditions. In July 1965 negotiations took place between the Scottish Aviation and the Central Electricity Generating Board aimed at marketing the car through the boards showrooms. The prototype was further developed with the addition of wood and aluminium bodywork and it was then registered for use on the road. It was successfully demonstrated in London and Bristol and received a great deal of publicity when on one occasion it was driven by the racing driver Stirling Moss
Stirling Moss
Sir Stirling Craufurd Moss, OBE FIE is a former racing driver from England...
. A further 12 cars were built for testing and the first of these went on show at the Ideal Home Exhibition in February 1967.
The project began to run into difficulties because of an inability to resolve the uneconomic battery life of the Lucas Industries
Lucas
Lucas is the Latin form of the Greek name Loukas , and it's a common name in many modern languages.Lucas may refer to several things.-Real:*Lucas Barrios, Paraguayan footballer currently playing for Borussia Dortmund...
batteries available at the time. It was cancelled when major weaknesses in the car design were revealed by testing at the Motor Industry Research Association
Motor Industry Research Association
MIRA Ltd, formerly known as the Motor Industry Research Association, is a limited company based near Nuneaton in Hinckley and Bosworth, Leicestershire in the United Kingdom, which provides product engineering, research, testing, information and certification services to the automotive...
test track, subjected to the same tests as a conventional car, the suspension eventually broke and the car was claimed to be unroadworthy.