Last week, we learned of Albert's brave foray into the world of environmentally friendly urban personal transportation. In this installment, we shall look more closely at the Spunticle, and why this brave design masterwork - far ahead of its time and grossly underappreciated - failed to take off commercially.

TV advertisement - 1986

This gyro-stabilised, eco-friendly roadster was designed partly in response to complaints about poor visibility from its Sinclair-built rival's low-riding seat; a shape which allegedly made the Spunticle dangerous on the roads.

With spiralling costs eventually totalling £3.2bn and each of the 19,000 units produced making a loss of £48,000, Spunt's vast fortune (estimated at £11bn in 1981) was being quickly depleted. The final blow was the tragic 'Spunticle Disaster' , when a specially designed 'Spunticle-route' was inadvertently laid parallel to and in places converging with newly opened M25 resulting  in 232 (of the 341 total) deaths and a national front bumper shortage. Eighteen days of national mourning followed.

Legacy

A small number of dedicated Spunticle enthusiasts remain in the UK, and an annual Spunticle rally takes place in January, when the steadily decreasing number of mechanics and customisers convene in East Sussex to parade their rides around the top of Beachy Head.

	Images from N Korean state television
	The Spunticle still has a major following in North Korea where the units, made under licence, still account for 18% of the vehicles on the road in Pyongyang (and 62% of the road traffic casualties). Kim Jong-Il is believed to have a fleet of over 20, believed to be upholstered with solid gold.