Enfield 8000

ENFIELD 8000 | The world's first electric vehicle in the early 70s, from SYROS Cyclades GREECE.


   Memory is the core of our personal history. Before surrendering itself to oblivion, we created this Web page, to pay a tribute to the manufacturers of Enfield8000 which has a unique place in the history of electric cars.

   What if this pioneering endeavour was abandoned prematurely, the very few Enfield 8000, which collectors really adore, are here, after 50 years, to remind us the abilities of Greece and Greek people. An innovative car which is a benchmark for the connoisseur of the history of cars.

   Enfield8000 is the first small electric car widely produced worldwide. An electric vehicle which was unfortunately ahead of its era.

   Enfield 8000, with its Greek origins, was designed by Konstantinos Adraktas, an engineer and MIT graduate. It was the first electric car widely produced worldwide. Although Enfield Company was located in Great Britain and, in particular, in Isle of Wight, it actually belonged to the Greek shipowner Giannis Goulandris.

   The reason for its manufacturing was a competition held by the British Council of Electricity, where the project of Enfield Company outcompeted similar projects made by Ford and Leyland, which was the manufacturing company of the well-known Mini.

   The production of the model originally started in Britain, yet the strikes of that time along with the employee's demands for higher wages and other various unfavourable circumstances, resulted in Giannis Goulandris' decision to continue manufacturing the car on the Greek island of Syros, since he owned the local shipyard at that time.

   The production line of Enfield8000 was set on the premises of a spinning mill. Syros is an island famous for the construction of ships-not cars- especially not electric cars. So, on this island, Syros, the first small, only 2.7m long, electric car was manufactured.

   Enfield 8000 started being produced in October 1973 and stopped three years later in 1976. During that time 120 cars were manufactured, half of which were bought by the British Council of Electricity, while the rest were sold to private owners outside Greece.

   It is easily understood that due to the limited amount of Enfield8000 vehicles produced, the remaining ones are extremely rare and and are considered more than collectible. However, it would be unfair to appreciate Enfield 8000 only for its rarity and not for the technological innovation and the pioneering perception of modern automotive which it represented so many years ago!

[Firstly Published 2012; Enfield8000.com]