Gordon Murray Design T.27 bows in the UK

Former F1 engineer, turned city car designer, Gordon Murray unveiled his pint-sized T.27 in London this week, touted as the world's most efficient electric car.

The latest vehicle from Gordon Murray Design, represents a $14 million (Cdn.) investment. From a clean sheet to a running prototype, the programme took just 17 months including the design and build of a completely new electric powertrain.

The T.27 has a top speed of 100 km/h and a range of 160 kms. It measures just 2.5 metres long, uses a 25 kW electric motor and weights just (1,500 lbs.) including the battery. Recent EuroNCAP crash tests with the T.27 showed zero cabin intrusion despite its small size.

Murray's company will use its patented iStream manufacturing process to build the T.27, which is all about low impact, low cost, car building in the UK. The outfit says full lifecycle CO2 damage from the car will be 42 percent less than the average British car.

Gordon Murray was a hugely successful technical director in Formula One, winning two world championships with Brabham and a further three with McLaren. He then set up McLaren Cars Limited and completed several projects including the F1 road car and the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren.

In 2005 Murray established Gordon Murray Design Limited with the first project being the T.25 – a city car with a central driving position

"Designing green cars is every bit as demanding as engineering Formula One cars," says Murray, "and many of the same principles apply – the search to save weight and maximize efficiency."