Photo: Gordon Murray
At the end of last year, the man who brought us the McLaren F1, Gordon Murray, gave the world a sneak peak of the T.50, the true and worthy successor of iconic British product. But the supercar, scheduled to be released in 2023, is not the only project the South African is working on.
During the MOVE 2020 show at ExCeL in London this week, Murray will be showing together with two other companies, Delta Motorsport and itMoves, the Motiv autonomous vehicle platform. Designed to be used for anything from people to goods transportation and beyond, the Motiv is described as a tiny, ultra-weight quadricycle the likes of which the world has never seen.
The concept that will be shown in the British capital city benefitted from Murray’s expertise in manufacturing lightweight cars. Called iStream Superlight, the technology makes use of ultra-lightweight high strength extruded aluminum in the chassis, composite panels and door to make the entire assembly weigh just 450 kg.
Powered by a 17.3 kWh liquid-cooled battery pack and a 20 kW electric motor, the Motiv should be capable of traveling for up to 100 km on a single charge (62 miles), at speeds of up to 40 mph (65kph).
“Motiv has the potential to transform future mobility,” Gordon Murray said in a statement.
“The best way to make any vehicle commercially viable and cost-effective, while delivering first-class efficiency, is to make it as light as it can be while retaining the highest levels of safety. With MOTIV we have used our iStream® technologies to create an ultra-lightweight body structure that delivers a vehicle that is compact, refined, safe and versatile, while remaining capable of significant range.”
The Motiv is not Murray’s first foray into the world of small vehicles. Prior to dedicating his work to the T.50, the designer came up with the T.25 and T.27, both city cars that were confirmed for production many years ago, but failed to actually take off.
The concept that will be shown in the British capital city benefitted from Murray’s expertise in manufacturing lightweight cars. Called iStream Superlight, the technology makes use of ultra-lightweight high strength extruded aluminum in the chassis, composite panels and door to make the entire assembly weigh just 450 kg.
Powered by a 17.3 kWh liquid-cooled battery pack and a 20 kW electric motor, the Motiv should be capable of traveling for up to 100 km on a single charge (62 miles), at speeds of up to 40 mph (65kph).
“Motiv has the potential to transform future mobility,” Gordon Murray said in a statement.
“The best way to make any vehicle commercially viable and cost-effective, while delivering first-class efficiency, is to make it as light as it can be while retaining the highest levels of safety. With MOTIV we have used our iStream® technologies to create an ultra-lightweight body structure that delivers a vehicle that is compact, refined, safe and versatile, while remaining capable of significant range.”
The Motiv is not Murray’s first foray into the world of small vehicles. Prior to dedicating his work to the T.50, the designer came up with the T.25 and T.27, both city cars that were confirmed for production many years ago, but failed to actually take off.
Google News