Ex-Formula 1 designer's EV gets 350MPGe
Big-name EVs like the Nissan Leaf and the BMW Active-E were put in their place at the Royal Automobile Club's Future Car Challenge last weekend.
Former Formula 1 designer Gordon Murray's tiny T.27 electric car received top honors over 50 other cars, covering the 57.13-mile trip from Brighton to London using 7 kilowatt-hours of energy, or the equivalent of 350 miles per gallon.
The race's objective is to cover the distance using the least amount of energy within a given amount of time, rather than finishing first.
Murray, who was behind the McLaren F1 and Mercedes-McLaren SLR super cars, left Formula 1 in 2006, and since then has focused on designing lighter, more energy-efficient cars.
“This year’s success in combination with last year’s win with our petrol-powered T.25 proves absolutely that light weight is our most powerful tool for solving our energy problems,” said Murray in a statement.
Murray's cars are about 4 feet wide and 8 feet long - smaller than a Smart ForTwo or a Scion iQ - and can fit up to three people. The T.27 uses a 12.5 kilowatt-hour lithium ion battery and a 25-kilowatt motor.
Though he has no plans to build the T.27 and his other model, the T.25, himself, “We look forward to working with a manufacturing partner to make the T.27 with its low running costs available to the motoring public,” Murray said.
Photo: Gordon Murray Design
via [Wired]
This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com