Tiny Car Gets 74 Miles per Gallon
Cited: Techland
Gordon Murray, auto enthusiasts know him as the guy who designed the McFarlane F1, has designed a new car, the T.25. This is a $9000 “compact” car that measures only 4′ wide x 8′ long and can drive to Tulane while fitting 3 cars in a standard parking lot. And best of all, it gets 74 miles to the gallon!
Shown off in the UK today, the T.25 features a “centralized driving position” and a “modular interior allowing for six different configurations, which can be easily adjusted to accommodate passengers or used as storage space,” according to CNN. It weighs in at just over 1,200 pounds and there’s an electric version, the T.27, in the works that will cost $18,000 and feature a range of between 80 and 100 miles before needing to be plugged in.
The cars’ relatively low pricing is a result of what Murray calls “iStream,” a new assembly process focused on efficiency. With iStream, “the powertrain, wiring harnesses, brakes, suspension and all major components can be fitted directly onto the chassis prior to the body panels being fitted,” according to Murray’s website. The body panels are pre-painted and “married” to the rest of the car “near the end of the assembly process, helping to reduce paint damage normally associated with a standard assembly line.”
Independent auto industry consultant, Holger Erker, told CNN, “It is the most radical change in, let’s say, the last 100 years of car body making. With “iStream” one of the most cost intensive production steps — body panel press shop — is completely eliminated.”
No word on if or when we’ll see these new cars in the US. It stands to reason that they’d roll out in the UK first, where Murray and company are located.
In fact, news of Gordon Murray’s decision to build a low-cost minicar created quite a stir when it was announced last year. That stir was in part because of the key driving force behind the project, Gordon Murray, ex-McLaren F1 designer and the pen behind the Caparo T1 supercar, but also because the car itself is an ambitious project. Designed to be tiny, efficient and flexible, the T25 has finally been revealed ahead of its first public appearance at the Smith School’s World Forum on Enterprise and the Environment in Oxford.
For those unfamiliar with the T25, it’s basically a design for a new type and class of personal transport vehicle that offers solutions to reduce congestion and parking problems whilst addressing the issue of full lifecycle CO2 damage. Murray is planning a range of body styles for the T25, including a van, pickup truck, taxi, and police car, cabrio and even an MPV.
The vehicle represents a major breakthrough in minicar design in the areas of weight, footprint, safety, usability and efficiency. It features a three-seat, rear-drive chassis with a compact three-cylinder gasoline unit running the show. An all-electric version is also planned, and both cars should be able to reach top speeds in excess of 65 mph.
A new level of efficiency in cost, weight and performance should come from the vehicle’s ‘clean sheet of paper’ approach, as well as from the full integration of the powertrain and also from the low energy manufacturing system developed by Gordon Murray Design in a process called iStream.
iStream significantly reduces the capital investment required to produce a vehicle and also the energy required for manufacture. Additionally, the flexibility of the iStream process
will allow the gasoline powered T.25 and the all-electric T.27 to be manufactured at the same plant.
Securing funding and partners for the manufacturing base for the new range of minicars is the next phase of this project.
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My Take: I WANT ONE! It is perfect for me and mom to go to the store in. In these difficult economic times, this will allow people to buy a new car as long as they don’t need much room. Women will be all too put out more money on eyelash extension kits been worried about car washes. And just think of the money you will save when you check your auto insurance quotes. The phrase “low cost auto insurance” will have a new meaning. Eyelash extensions will be only one of the many things women will be the getting with the extra cash in your pocket.
Although, more people may need a personal injury attorney Vail CO because the car is small and hard to see like a motorcycle. One thing is for sure, seniors will be pulling out their retirement calculator to see if they can afford one. I can just see it, here in Sun City where the seniors are, a whole mess of these tiny cars going down the road. And when it comes to dividing assets, Denver divorce lawyers will really have a problem because both parties will want the car.
According to baby boomer info, there will be more seniors than young people soon. And if this tiny car is a big hit, there will be a lot of seniors driving them. And I hope to be one of them!
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