The car dubbed the ‘world’s most efficient electric car’ was revealed at the press conference at the Royal Automotive Club yesterday (June 29) ahead of its public debut at the club’s Future Car Challenge set for November.
The car, designed to be as energy efficient as possible throughout its lifecycle, is expected to have a CO2 footprint of just 42 per cent of the current average car in the UK. Designed by former Formula One technical director Gordon Murray, the city car is the second EV model to launch through his Gordon Murray Design firm. Last year, the firm’s first electric model, the T.25 debuted in the inaugural RAC Future Car Challenge , winning both the Most Economic Small Passenger ICE Vehicle and Most Economic and Environment Friendly Small Passenger ICE Vehicle awards.
The new T.27 model follows closely to the layout and geometry as well as the performance of the original T.25 city car, with a top speed of 65mph and a range of 100 miles. Just 2.5m long, it uses a 25kW electric motor to power it to 62mph in less than 15 seconds. Projected emissions, using a UK energy mix, are 43g/km CO for the combined cycle and just 33g/km CO2 for the urban cycle alone, with zero emissions at the point of use.
Made using the company’s iStream® maunfacturing process, the model has an exceptionally low production footprint too. This unique , energy efficient manufacturing process, is a simplified method of producing cars which means that the manufacturing plant can be designed to be 20 per cent smaller. Last year, itwon the SMMT’s Automotive Innovation Award.
This year started well too, as the T.27 recorded outstanding crash test results. Completing the mandatory EEC 40 per cent offset deformable barrier front high-speed impact test the T.27 emerged with zero cabin intrusion.
Speaking at the press launch of the T.27 at the Royal Automobile Club, Gordon Murray said: "I would like to thank the RAC for the opportunity to launch our T.27, an important milestone in the history of the automobile, in this great, historic building."
The Gordon Murray Design T.27 will now appear at the Goodwood Festival of Speed this weekend and before it and the T.25 appear at this year’s Future Car Challenge. The challenge, a 60 mile run between Brighton and London, is open to electric, hybrid, hydrogen and low-emission internal combustion engine vehicles which all compete to use the least amount of energy across the course. It takes place on November 5, 2011, starting from the Madeira Drive in Brighton.
