Gordon Murray became famous for his design of the now iconic McLaren’s F1, and even before that he was well known for his radical ideas in Formula 1 teams such as Brabham. Now, Murray is lending his skills to much greener projects and the latest is a unique city car.
Earlier this week Gordon Murray Design pulled the covers off its very compact city car, named the T.27. The project for this micro machine was seen from concept to prototype in just 17 months. What’s even more impressive is that time frame included the design of a new electric powertain by Zytek Automotive Ltd. The project cost an estimated £9 million, with half of the funding coming from the UK government-backed Technology Strategy Board.
Murray’s aim for the car was ambitious: to create a completely new kind of vehicle, one that would address the problems of CO2 emissions, city congestion, parking and be sold at a low cost.
The T.27 weighs just 680kg including the battery and is 2.5m in length, 1.3 in width and has a height of 1.6m. Top speed is rated at 105kph and it can sprint to 100km/h from standing in under 15 seconds. It’s range is between 160km and 210km on a full charge.
Murray had this to say about the project’s focus, “lightweight is the most powerful tool we have in our armory in the fight against emissions and fuel consumption. This is true of all cars, especially electric vehicles, since a lightweight car means a lightweight battery, increasing the levels of safety and reducing the retail price dramatically”. Read the rest of this entry »
