Although Gordon Murray’s new T.27 EV may look like the GeeWiz’s bastard child, it has just recently won RAC’s Future Car Challenge in the UK this past weekend.

Scooping up three titles in the contest, including Best Overall Entry and Best Overall Pure Electric Vehicle, Murray’s T.27 EV traveled 57.13 miles from Brighton to London, carrying 2 occupants and using only .92 euros worth of electricity, which works out to the equivalent of 346 mpg on the imperial rating system.

The T.27 is mated to a 12 kWh lithium-ion battery, which powers an electric motor that produces 34hp and 654 lb-ft of torque. The T.27’s curb weight is pegged at 1,500 lbs and has a range of 100 miles on a full charge based on the New European Driving Cycle.

- By: Chris Chin

Hey guys guess what? More green news! But, although we’ve been doing a decent job providing you with the latest green news that’s relatively relevant—at least I think we are—well, this bit of news isn’t exactly as exciting as it is interesting…just.

But anyway, Sir Gordon Murray of Britainland has unveiled what he claims to be the world’s most efficient electric car. Currently in the form of a concept that’s fully functioning and road-worthy, the T27 features a 33hp electric motor and a single-speed transaxle made by Zytec, a small British race electronics and green technology company that has also worked with Smart.

And with the T27 just weighing in at 700kg or 1,500lbs, it can go from 0-60 in under 15 seconds with a limited top speed of 65. Charging only takes 4.5 hours for an 80% charge. Total driving range comes in at100 miles on NEDC, 130 miles on ECE15

For a city car, all of this makes sense. But when was the last time a city car turned your insides? From what I remember, Smart cars and UK’s Gee-Wiz weren’t exactly the most appealing forms of transportation. In fact, I would rather be dragged to my destination behind one than be seen in it. But of course, to each their own.

Murray’s T27 will go on sale by 2013.

Gordon Murray Design T27:

- By: Chris Chin

Gordon Murray T.27 City Car Layout

Gordon Murray, the man responsible for the giving us the McLaren F1, has teamed up with Zytek Automotive to have four prototypes of an all-electric three-seater city car on the roads by February 2011.

“The Technology Strategy Board have been incredibly supportive of the T.27 program and together we are working to keep this in the United Kingdom,” said Gordon Murray, CEO of Gordon Murray Design. “It is a great opportunity to work with Zytek Automotive and our other partners on this very exciting program. We always strive to lead the way in automotive design and our current goal is to maximize efficiency of electric vehicles.”

The two companies say that the T.27 City Car will have a low curb weight of around 1,500 pounds, including the 33-hp electric-motor, single-speed gearbox and the weight of the 12kWh lithium-ion battery. The system will allow the T.27 City Car to go from 0-62 mph in less than 15 seconds with a top speed of 66 mph. On a full charge, the T.27 should provide anywhere from 80 to 100 miles.

Follow the jump for the press release for more details

Press Release:

T.27 THE WORLD’S MOST EFFICIENT ELECTRIC VEHICLE

Gordon Murray Design announced the Specification and Performance Targets for the T.27 City Car, a pure electric drive vehicle designed to fully optimise packaging, weight and performance. The announcement marks an exciting leap forward in efficiency for electric vehicles and working closely with their powertrain partner, Zytek Automotive, a brand new, innovative, lightweight and fully integrated electric motor, control system and battery will be designed to ensure that maximum efficiency is achieved.

Projected emissions, using a UK energy mix, are 48g/km CO2 for the combined cycle and 28g/km CO2 for the urban cycle alone, with zero emissions at the point of use. Full lifecycle CO2 damage will be 42% less than the average UK car.

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: 80 ““ 100 miles

The T.27 vehicle concept closely follows the layout and geometry of Gordon Murray Design’s innovative T.25 city car, an MPV with 6 possible internal layouts.

The efficiency in cost, weight and performance comes in part from the ‘clean sheet of paper’ approach, part from the full integration of the powertrain and also from the low energy manufacturing system developed by Gordon Murray Design called iStream®.

iStream® massively reduces the capital investment required to produce the vehicle and also the energy required for manufacture plus the flexibility of the iStream® process would also allow the petrol powered T.25 and the T.27 to be manufactured at the same plant.

The 16 month programme started in November 2009 with a running prototype scheduled for completion in April 2011 and is supported with a 50% investment from the Technology Strategy Board. The next phase in the programme will include a push to secure partners and funding for UK manufacture. A UK partner or consortium to produce the city cars in the UK would keep the technology at home and could create 6,000 jobs.

Gordon Murray Design and Zytek Automotive have announced that they will have four prototypes of an all-electric three-seater city car on the roads by February 2011. The move is made possible by a £4.5m ($7.5 million) investment from the government-backed Technology Strategy Board.

The production model, currently known as the T.27, will be the world’s most efficient electric car due to its low weight and ‘clean sheet of paper design,’ says Gordon Murray Design.

Where does Zytek come in? Gordon Murray Design says that making the T.27 the most efficient electric-car isn’t possible with conventional steel design or existing drivetrains, gearboxes, electric-motors or batteries. Zytek will integrate an efficient drivetrain to a new lightweight manufacturing process developed by Gordon Murray called iStream. The move will result in a three-seater city car that is slightly smaller than a Smart, but with more interior room. Gordon Murray has not yet released any technical specs of his T.27.

The 16 month project aims to have a manufacturing facility in the UK, with the ultimate goal of producing the T.27 in the UK.

Make the jump for the press release.

Press Release:

GORDON MURRAY DESIGN & ZYTEK AUTOMOTIVE ANNOUNCE ELECTRIC CITY CAR PROGRAMME

Gordon Murray Design and Zytek Automotive announce an all-electric three-seater city car, made possible through a £4.5m investment from the government-backed Technology Strategy Board. With a total cost of £9m, the new research and development project will allow the consortium to develop four prototypes by February 2011.

Professor Gordon Murray, Chief Executive and Technical Director of Gordon Murray Design said of the announcement “As we head towards the new industrial revolution brought about by rising energy costs and concern over the effects of greenhouse gases, we at Gordon Murray Design feel proud to be working with the Technology Strategy Board in helping the UK play a leading role in tackling the issues we all face. More often than not the UK has been responsible for innovative concepts and technologies only to have the end benefits seen abroad. In this case, we”re all working together to keep the technology and the production in this country.”

The T.27 will be the world”s most efficient electric car due to its low weight and “˜clean sheet of paper design”. This ambitious target cannot be achieved by applying a conventional stamped steel construction design, nor with a drivetrain using existing gearboxes, motors or batteries. Instead, an entirely fresh approach is proposed; accepting no compromise in safety, performance, range, space, weight, rolling resistance and ride quality. By applying iStream® methodology, a new manufacturing process developed by Gordon Murray Design, to the T.27 and fully integrating it with a custom-designed lightweight, highly efficient drivetrain from Zytek, every aspect of the vehicle can be optimised. This holistic approach results in a car slightly smaller than a Smart, but with more interior space.

A similar approach was used by Gordon Murray Design for a three-seater petrol-driven car (T.25) which is receiving significant market interest. The T.25 programme provides confidence that the aims of the T.27 programme are 100% achievable.

T.27 will also set new standards in environmental sustainability. High level lifecycle analysis derived from T.25 data predicts life-cycle emissions 63% less than the average car and for the T.27 lifecycle emissions 27% less than the nearest EV rival which is partly due to the iStream® manufacturing approach. Rival compact city car EVs do not simultaneously address all of the factors noted above and so this combination of attributes presents a significant market opportunity.

Zytek has designed and integrated electric drive systems for a wide range of European and US vehicle manufacturers and is currently building high performance electric drivetrains up to 70kW and 300Nm for cars, buses and light commercial vehicles. The T.27 focuses on “˜efficient performance” with all aspects of the drivetrain designed to maximise efficiency and minimise weight. The motor, power electronics and gearbox will form a single, highly integrated unit designed specifically for the performance requirements of the T.27, but offering scaleability to heavier vehicles as required.

“This is an exciting project on several levels,” says Zytek Automotive Sales and Marketing Director Steve Tremble. “As well as supporting the development of a new family of E-Drives, it will show what can be achieved when the vehicle design is optimised for zero emissions propulsion. It”s a terrific initiative and we are delighted that the Technology Strategy Board has agreed to back it.”

The 16 month project has several aims; to position the consortium positively to further explore the possibility of scaling up and building a manufacturing facility in the UK, with the ultimate goal of producing the T.27 in this country; keeping the new technology and IPR within the UK and making this affordable, fun and environmentally friendly car widely available on the open market. The project outcomes will help justify the required follow-on commercial investment to take the vehicle into manufacture by providing a body of evidence that the concept is a viable design for production.