Gordon Murray's new "toys": The T.25 and the T.27

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hollus
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Gordon Murray's new "toys": The T.25 and the T.27

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These are not high performance cars, but I think we can all agree that they are cars: seated position driving, fully enclosed, crash protection, trunk space, range, all car-like.

McLaren F1 Developer Designs New Auto Driving 100 MPH on 96 MPG
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Some highlights:

The matte-black T.25, with a 51-horsepower, three-cylinder engine, goes 100 miles (160 kilometers) per hour. It gets 96 miles to the U.K. gallon (1.2 U.S. gallons) compared with 72 mpg for the Smart Pulse coupe in Europe. The cobalt-blue T.27, propelled by a lithium-ion battery and a 25-kilowatt electric motor, can go 100 miles on about $1.06 of power.

His iStream system forms a chassis out of composite and then installs components and attaches body panels made from recycled plastic bottles. Three steps -- stamping the steel frame, welding the body together and rustproofing -- are eliminated.

Replacing metal presses with machines for bending, welding and the simplified assembly process means that the manufacturing plant can be designed to be 20% the size of a conventional factory. This could reduce capital investment in the assembly plant by approximately 80%. Energy costs down 60%.

They come in gasoline T.25 and electric T.27 versions.

And how this is possible due to a new chassis manufacturing process/philosophy: istream

I say this is a potential game changer for the world and I would be willing to buy one.
Thoughts?
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tomislavp4
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Re: Gordon Murray's new "toys": The T.25 and the T.27

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I´d rather drive on of those then buy the Smart. I like the arrangement of the seats, especially the McLaren F1-like driving position, the arrangement really makes sense in a car like this. It´s easy to park, highway-capable, cheap to own and run... and... well... ugly as hell :lol: The other problem, other then the design, is the door-thingie. Open that in the rain and see how it goes...

These are not for sale as far as I know, they are made to showcase what the manufacturing processes can do so other car manufacturers buy the rights to use it, no?

cheapracer
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Re: Gordon Murray's new "toys": The T.25 and the T.27

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Interestingly Murray did not set out to build/design a new car but set out to design and patent a new car construction/production method to sell to clients. The cars themselves came about from being requested to prove his process and they are the result.

"Gordan Murray Design" will not produce the cars but the designs are now an optional part of the production package for sale.

Hey Wolf!

autogyro
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Re: Gordon Murray's new "toys": The T.25 and the T.27

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Strange that this thread stalled.
This must be one of the most important developments in automotive thinking in a long time.

Sombrero
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Re: Gordon Murray's new "toys": The T.25 and the T.27

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Very nice documentary about Gordon Murray and the developpement of the T.25

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRyAI-W5QMU

The production processes of these T. cars are really impressive.

marcush.
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Re: Gordon Murray's new "toys": The T.25 and the T.27

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Even if it´s something akin to british tradition in terms of kitcar looks .it´s just plain ugly and I would not even bother to think about buying on of those.
I really admire Murray and think the basic idea is great as is the production process but please build something desireable!

tok-tokkie
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Re: Gordon Murray's new "toys": The T.25 and the T.27

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Sombrero wrote:Very nice documentary about Gordon Murray and the developpement of the T.25

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRyAI-W5QMU

The production processes of these T. cars are really impressive.
Many thanks for posting that link. Fascinating.

A member of my wife's family worked on the T25 - he is an ex McLaren engineer (road car side) & he showed me a conceptual model of the shape several years ago but would only discuss the project in very broad terms. I had not kept up developments (I live on the other side of the equator where Murray originated).

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pgfpro
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Re: Gordon Murray's new "toys": The T.25 and the T.27

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Very cool video!!!!

Thanks for the heads up!!!!
building the perfect beast

shadow28
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Re: Gordon Murray's new "toys": The T.25 and the T.27

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pgfpro wrote:Very cool video!!!!

Thanks for the heads up!!!!
very grates!

Belatti
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Re: Gordon Murray's new "toys": The T.25 and the T.27

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You just cant think about the looks regarding these type of urban micro cars. The long/tall ratio makes it impossible to design something beautiful. Think about Phi and the beauty/shape relation, its not a crazy thing at all.
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hollus
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Re: Gordon Murray's new "toys": The T.25 and the T.27

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The thing is moving forward, at least the istream process seems to be.
Now this (the MOTIV.e city car) looks even more like a real car, and it is not fugly (admittedly a matter of taste).

http://www.gordonmurraydesign.com/press.php
http://www.autoblog.com/2013/11/21/gord ... okyo-2013/
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tok-tokkie
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Re: Gordon Murray's new "toys": The T.25 and the T.27

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Thanks for that update. It looks much better than the previous one. The original was 1+2 seating but this one is 2 side by side. A family member worked for him on the original 3 seater.

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hollus
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Re: Gordon Murray's new "toys": The T.25 and the T.27

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After shedding a few kilos, some drag and some frictions, this has not gotten a makeover to become a Shell concept car capable of 107MPG:
http://www.topgear.com/car-news/concept ... s-city-car
http://www.topgear.com/car-news/concept ... ll-concept
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