More Gordon Murray Design T.27 details

* Electric city car * Urban range of up to 130 miles * Three manufacturers interested...

More Gordon Murray Design T.27 details

Gordon Murray Design has released more details of its T.27 electric city car.

The compact, lightweight vehicle has a 34bhp electric motor mounted just ahead of the rear wheels and has a top speed of 65mph.

The Surrey-based company claims it is the one of the most energy-efficient electric cars, using 29% less energy per km than the Smart EV and 36% less than the Mitsubishi iMiev.

The T.27s development has been partly funded by investment from the Government-backed Technology Strategy Board and the whole process has taken just 17 months. Gordon Murray Design says that discussions are taking place with three possible manufacturers for the T.27.

Gordon Murray Design has worked with Zytek Automotive on the T.27s drivetrain. The system is particularly compact, and the motor, inverter and gearbox weigh less than 50kg.

Overall, the T.27 weighs just 680kg, thanks partly to lightweight construction techniques that Gordon Murray Design calls iStream.

The maximum range is expected to be over 100 miles in everyday driving (up to 62mph) and up to 130 miles over the urban European Drive Cycle.