Back to the future The 109-year-old 'green' machine
ANTIQUE car collector Reg Plunkett has gone back to the future with a truly green electric car.
His authentic environmentally friendly Sperry Cleveland roadster emits zero pollutants and uses no petrol or diesel fuel. But then again, it was built in 1899 -- six years before the word "smog" was even coined and a hundred years before anyone had even heard of a carbon footprint.
The three-seater antique that looks like a horseless coach with wheels is Ireland's only vintage electric car designed by the prolific American inventor Elmer Abrose Sperry who invented, among other things, the gyroscope, the torpedo, the trolley, batteries and the gasoline-powered engine.
The all-wooden black-and-maroon coloured chassis has a tiller steering system like that found on a boat. Its 48-volt electric motor is powered by eight traction batteries.
But while it emits no pollutants, it won't be featuring in any Formula One races anytime soon -- its maximum speed is 10mph.
"It's actually quite ancient," said Mr Plunkett, (65), the past president of the Irish Veteran and Vintage Car Club.
"It could topple over if it went any faster," he said.
He bought the car for an undisclosed sum at an auction at Sotheby's 14 years ago and restored it back to its original condition.
"It hadn't been running for about 60 years," he said.
- Allison Bray
