The T.25 Wins Two Trophies In
RAC Brighton To London Future Car Challenge Rally

Gordon Murray Design’s T.25 City Car won both its categories at Saturday’s inaugural Brighton to London Future Car Challenge.  The Royal Automobile Club event was organised to be a very public showcase for low-energy vehicles and was open to all types of Production, Pre-Production and Prototype vehicles.  With over 60 eco-friendly vehicles taking part, Gordon Murray Design chose the challenge to be T.25’s on-the-road debut.

Staged, promoted and judged in three categories – Electric, Hybrid and Internal Combustion Engine – the entries in each category were measured in various modes for the energy used during the journey from Madeira Drive, Brighton, to Pall Mall, London.  The challenge was to complete the event with the least energy impact.

Out of all of the entrants only two represented lightweight as a route to efficiency, reduced consumption and emissions.  One being the Lotus Elise S1 Electric which won Most Economic & Environment Friendly Sports EV and the other,T.25, won Most Economic Small Passenger ICE Vehicle and Most Economic and Environment Friendly Small Passenger ICE Vehicle.

Interestingly T.25 won using a petrol engine alongside the eight other entrants to the same categories who were using diesel engines.  By using a sample of 16 small passenger cars Gordon Murray Design has calculated that there is an average efficiency increase of 27% for a diesel model over the equivalent petrol model.  Therefore the lightweight philosophy of T.25, which achieved 96mpg (2.9litres per 100km) during the challenge, means had it been powered by diesel it could have recorded 131mpg (2.2litres per 100km)!

An additional factor to take in to account for the overall results is that T.25’s engine is yet to be fully optimised for fuel economy so a further efficiency benefit would be expected once in production.

Assisted in the challenge by the support of their Technical Partners – Shell and Michelin – the two wins are a victory for the principal of efficiency through lightweight and prove any future powertrain technology when combined with a safe, lightweight structure, as delivered by iStream®, Gordon Murray Design’s automotive manufacturing technology, will have a compounded environmental benefit. 

Any of the class winners in Saturday’s event could have been significantly more efficient had they been underpinned with an iStream® structure.

Professor Gordon Murray, CEO & Technical Director said

"It was a privilege to take part in the Brighton to London Future Car Challenge alongside the latest technologies for low carbon vehicles.  Winning both our categories demonstrates that reducing vehicle weight is the single most powerful tool we have to reduce carbon emissions and is a great endorsement for our iStream® manufacturing technology which enables lightweight vehicle structures to be produced in volume and at low cost.  Even though the mpg figures and energy usage were impressive at 96mpg, the revelation for me was driving the T.25 through London traffic – a small footprint, lightweight vehicle with great all round visibility, it truly felt like I was driving the future".

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For media enquiries contact:
Tiffany Hutt, Gordon Murray Design Limited
enquiries@gordonmurraydesign.com

Editor’s Notes:

1. Gordon Murray Design Limited is a British company established in 2007.  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. For more information please visit www.gordonmurraydesign.com
2. 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. Development of the process began over 15 years ago and it has already won the prestigious 2008 ‘Idea of the Year’ award from Autocar who were given privileged access in order to make their assessment. 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.
3. The T.25 City Car is a radical, innovative design for a new type and class of personal transport vehicle which applies a fit for purpose approach to lightweight material usage in its construction to achieve an ultra low vehicle weight.The T.25 vehicle architecture is unique in the way it affords more useable interior space than its competitors in a smaller exterior package, the seating flexibility and layout offer MPV practicality normally associated with larger vehicles and it achieves a smaller exterior "footprint" allowing it to increase parking opportunities (3 in 1 parking bay), and manoeuvrability (such as a 6m turning circle) in the types of urban environments it is intended for.   Significantly, the T.25 has been package protected for all types of powertrain – Petrol, Diesel, Electric, Hybrid etc. Resource usage and waste during manufacture will be reduced by at least 40%, firstly due to the compact size of the T.25 and light weight which will reduce material requirements, and secondly through minimisation of components and multi-functional part design - a feature of iStream®. Body panels are made from recycled materials, the chassis is potentially reusable and the light weight will also reduce wear and tear and consequently the requirement for parts and maintenance.