AC Invacar Model 57 1970s

This 1960s rear view shows an AC Invacar Model 57, one of the distinctive single-seater invalid carriages that became a familiar sight on British roads in the 1960s and 1970s. Finished in the pale blue often associated with Ministry-issued vehicles, it has the compact fibreglass body, small rear window, louvred engine cover and narrow rear track typical of the type. The registration suffix on this example places it in the mid-1960s, and the view also shows the very simple, utilitarian layout that reflected its purpose as state-provided transport for disabled drivers rather than a conventional private car. Built by AC Cars under government contract, the Model 57 formed part of a much wider Ministry of Health and Ministry of Pensions scheme that supplied lightweight three-wheeled transport across Britain, and vehicles of this kind remained a common part of the roadside scene until well into the 1970s. Although once extremely widespread, they later vanished almost completely from everyday use and are now remembered as one of the most distinctive specialised British vehicle types of the post-war period.