The British government once provided free Invacars that could capsize and catch fire – Jalopnik

The journey of the Invacar – a term derived from ‘disabled car’ – begins in the 1940s. Men returned from World War II with disabilities that prevented them from driving a regular car. So the British government decided to provide them with a small vehicle that was driven by hand. It looked like a car, but was actually more of a three-wheeler, hidden under a crude fiberglass shell.

The Invacar was produced by eight separate car manufacturers and had a career that spanned three decades. Early models were powered by a lethargic air-cooled 147 cubic centimeter Villiers engine, but later models had “big-block” 500cc or 600cc four-stroke Steyr-Puch engines. Clearly, performance was never at the forefront of anyone’s goals for the car. They were all about giving independence back to British people with disabilities.

That’s exactly what it did, and successfully too. About 21,000 were produced, and although flawed and derided by many, they did allow people to return to the road without having to rely on friends, family and public transport.

But back to the shortcomings. The Invacar leaked and bounced around at every speed bump and dip in the road. Chief among the issues, however, was the fact that it could fall over quite easily and occasionally catch fire, leaving users afraid to venture into one. Formula 1 legend Graham Hill was familiar with the dangers of driving – he raced in one of F1’s most crucial eras when it came to safety – and as recorded in the reports of the British Parliamenthe stated that “such vehicles should not be allowed to drive on the road.”

It seems that most Invacar users were happy to have the opportunity to hit the road independently. As a user named Colin Powell shared the BBC: “The excitement of having this vehicle come into your possession, after years of depending on… my parents to take me somewhere, was an absolute joy and thrill.”

But the joy of receiving such a vehicle was soon met with complaints about its effectiveness. The BBC reported that 85% of users experienced problems with it. Powell recalled: “They were not reliable, they were unstable, they were fundamentally unsafe.”

The Invacar’s handling wasn’t the only problem with the design. Users also complained about the lack of amenities inside; there was no heating, no radio and only room for a wheelchair; other passengers were prohibited, as evidenced by a plaque in the cabin. As a result, mothers left their children on the floor to hide themselves. There was no padding, no extra seat belt, nothing for them. Combine this with the Invacar’s interesting handling characteristics, and it’s probably fair to call the thing a death trap like a Morgan three-wheeler (though less exciting) – especially by modern safety standards.

As the years passed, users began to protest the Invacar’s unsuitability. Sure, they were grateful to get their own wheels, at taxpayer expense, but surely something more suitable could be offered. They wanted the government to adapt regular four-wheeled passenger vehicles instead, and these wishes were met in the 1970s. One example was a Triumph Spitfire that looked a lot like this old gasifier, which – at a cost of £115, or about $1,700 today – had been modified to have manual controls.

The desire for change gave rise to the British Mobility Scheme. Under this initiative, disability benefits cover the costs of leasing a new vehicle, or, for more expensive cars, help cover the costs, allowing eligible users to get around in a much more comfortable and well-equipped way. Included in the Mobility Scheme are the user’s maintenance, insurance and towing costs, but he or she is of course not actually the owner of the vehicle.

While the Invacar certainly had its problems and shortcomings (its tendency to tip over and ignite eventually led to it being banned from British roads in 2003) it gave its users the freedoms they deserved. And it paved the way for the much safer modern system that exists today.