T.27 Unveiled - The Worlds Most Efficient Electric Car
At an event held at the RAC, Pall Mall, London Gordon Murray Design has today unveiled their latest ultra compact city vehicle, T.27, the world’s most efficient electric car.
The design and development programme for T.27 is a £9 million project, made possible through a £4.5 million investment from the government-backed Technology Strategy Board.  From a clean sheet of paper to a running prototype the programme has taken just 17 months including the design and build of a completely new electric powertrain by Zytek Automotive Ltd, one of the Consortium partners.
T.27 specifically targets the urban city environment via a unique, holistic, manufacturing process (‘iStream®’) developed by Consortium lead partner Gordon Murray Design, it aims to significantly reduce lifecycle impacts and enable low cost, efficient manufacture within the UK. The electric car sets new standards in weight, footprint, small car dynamics, safety, packaging and efficiency whilst addressing full lifecycle CO2 emissions, congestion, parking and low cost motoring.
Gordon Murray Design’s patented iStream® manufacturing technology has produced new levels of lightweight structure and safety in city cars. The iFrame geometry in the T.27 has allowed every aspect of the vehicle to be optimised including Zytek Automotive’s integrated powertrain, another world first.
Unveiling the T.27, Professor Gordon Murray, CEO of Gordon Murray Design said:
“Lightweight is the most powerful tool we have in our armoury in the fight against emissions and fuel consumption. This is true of all cars and especially so with electric vehicles! A lightweight car means a lightweight battery increasing the levels of safety and reducing the retail price dramatically.” The T.27 represents a huge step forward in protecting our mobility and our environment.
Gordon Murray Design recently achieved first class results in a second crash test on the vehicle - the EuroNCAP 50kph mobile deformable barrier (MDB) protocol, confirming the structural integrity of an iStream® manufactured chassis during a side impact.
The real world performance of T.27 closely correlated with simulation revealing virtually zero cabin intrusion during the dynamic phase of impacting. The exemplary performance of T.27 in side impact presents a further milestone in vehicle safety development for the company.
The Consortium also released today the updated specification and performance targets for T.27:
Vehicle Specification
| eMotor: | 25kW | Height: | 1.60m |
|---|---|---|---|
| Battery Type: | Li-Ion | Weight: | 680Kg (incl. battery) |
| Battery Spec. | 12kWh | Wheel Base: | 1.78m |
| Length: | 2.50m | Turning Circle: | 6.0m |
| Width | 1.30m |
Performance Targets
| Top Speed: | 105kph |
|---|---|
| 0-100kph: | Less than 15 seconds |
| Range: | 100 miles on NEDC, 130 miles on ECE15 |
In comparison to other electric cars the T.27 has much lower energy consumption per mile, the Smart EV uses 29% more energy per km, the Mitsubishi iMiEV uses 36% more energy per km, and the Mini-E uses 86% more energy per km, making the T.27 the most efficient electric car by some margin.
Iain Gray, Chief Executive of the Technology Strategy Board said:
“I must congratulate Gordon Murray Design and their partners for developing the T.27 prototype – and in rapid time. The growing pressure for more environmentally friendly transport, from both customers and regulators, is creating new business opportunities in the fast-developing market for low carbon vehicles. The Technology Strategy Board exists to help drive dynamic technological innovations such as the T.27, which are key to meeting our climate change goals.”
Gordon Murray Design is currently talking to three possible manufacturers for T.27. The car will make its public road debut at the RAC Future Car Challenge on 5th November 2011.
Illustrations:
Illustrations can be downloaded from www.newspress.co.uk or supplied by e-mail by sarah.smith@gordonmurraydesign.com
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For media enquiries contact:
Tiffany Hutt, Gordon Murray Design Limited
enquiries@gordonmurraydesign.com
Editor’s Notes:
- Gordon Murray Design Limited is a British company operating from Shalford in Surrey. The Company aims to be the world leader in automotive design and reverses the current industry trend for sub-contracting by having a complete in-house capability for design, prototyping and development. The Company is compact and focused and undertakes automotive and other engineering programmes in an efficient and innovative way. For more information please visit www.gordonmurraydesign.com
- Zytek Automotive Limited is a British engineering company with a reputation for success, pursued both on and off the track. Its substantial automotive engineering experience has been gained by providing major vehicle manufacturers with advanced powertrain and chassis control systems. This expertise led to the rapid growth of its engineering consultancy business, and most recently, to the design, development and manufacture of innovative Hybrid and Electric drivetrains. For more information please visit www.zytekgroup.co.uk
- The Technology Strategy Board is a business-led government body which works to create economic growth by ensuring that the UK is a global leader in innovation. Sponsored by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), the Technology Strategy Board brings together business, research and the public sector, supporting and accelerating the development of innovative products and services to meet market needs, tackle major societal challenges and help build the future economy. For more information please www.innovateuk.org
- Consortium partners for the T.27 project are Gordon Murray Design Limited as the lead organisation and Zytek Automotive Limited. Technical support will be provided by Michelin Plc and Continental Corporation and Sub-contractors will include MIRA Limited, Vocis Driveline Controls, VCA UK, and ENAX.
- The iStream® assembly process is a complete rethink and redesign of the traditional automotive manufacturing process and could potentially be the biggest revolution in high volume manufacture since the Model T. The simplified assembly process means that the manufacturing plant can be designed to be 20% of the size of a conventional factory. This could reduce capital investment in the assembly plant by approximately 80%. Yet the flexibility of this assembly process means that the same factory could be used to manufacture different variants. The iStream® design process is a complete re-think on high volume materials, as well as the manufacturing process and will lead to a significant reduction in full lifecycle CO2.
- iStream® won the prestigious 'Idea of the Year' award from Autocar 2008 and more recently the inaugural 2010 Innovation Award from the SMMT, one of the UK's largest and most influential trade associations. T.25 also recently won both its categories - Most Economic Small Passenger ICE Vehicle and Most Economic and Environment Friendly Small Passenger ICE Vehicle - in the inaugural 2010 Brighton to London Future Car Challenge.