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Murray, que foi o responsável pelos vitoriosos Brabham e McLaren de Fórmula 1 que deram dois títulos a Piquet e três a Ayrton Senna, fez o esquema dos bancos no formato 1+2, semelhante ao do McLaren F1, também concebido por ele: o motorista vai sozinho na frente, no meio do veículo, provendo uma visão ampla do trânsito, diminuindo os chamados "pontos cegos". A estrutura externa ainda conta com materiais recicláveis, suspensão traseira independente e baixo centro de gravidade.
A parte da frente do veículo se abre completamente, para o acesso aos passageiros e motorista, num sistema parecido com o do BMW Isetta, eliminando a necessidade de presença de portas. O motor tem três cilindros, 660 cm3, que produz 51 CV de potência e 57 Nm de torque, e fica posicionado na traseira do veículo. O carro é capaz de alcançar os 100 Km/h em 16,2 segundos, o consumo de combustível pode atingir 26 Km/l, e a emissão de monóxido de carbono é de 86 g/Km. O câmbio é sequencial de cinco marchas.
Se o T.25 não é ecologicamente correto o suficiente para você, a GMD revelou as especificações do T.27, versão elétrica com uma bateria de 12 volts que alimenta um motor de 34 CV de potência e 875 Nm de torque. Com esta configuração, acelera de zero a 100 Km/h em 15 segundos e atinge a velocidade máxima de 105 Km/h. A autonomia do armazenador de carga é de 129 a 161 Km.
O diminuto tamanho do T.25 (2,4 m de comprimento, 1,3 m de largura e 1,6 m de altura) permite realizar manobras facilmente, podendo efetuar giros em seu próprio eixo com 6 metros de diâmetro, e é tão estreito que três exemplares deste carro podem estacionar numa vaga paralela de estacionamento. Vem de série com airbags, controle de estabilidade e freios ABS. Mas seu preço para o consumidor ainda não foi informado.
O T.25 poderá ser fabricado no Brasil. Gordon Murray estará no país no mês que vem, juntamente com Eike Batista, para definir sua possível produção para o Mercosul. Depois de ficar famoso por seus supercarros, Murray resolveu fazer algo para minimizar os problemas do trânsito nas grandes cidades.
Segundo Murray, os investimentos necessários para fabricar o T.25 ficam em torno de 10% a 15% do que é utilizado para fazer um carro convencional. "Uma fábrica, para produzir 100 mil unidades por ano, com todo o ferramental necessário e com pessoal treinado, não demandaria mais do que US$ 200 milhões, disse Murray. A título de comparação, a fábrica da Ford em Camaçari (BA), para produzir 250 mil unidades por ano, precisou de US$ 1,2 bilhão, ou seja, seis vezes mais.
T.25 DEBUTS AT SMITH SCHOOL'S WORLD FORUM
Monday 28th June 2010, Gordon Murray Design's T.25 City Car will make its first public appearance at the Smith School's World Forum on Enterprise and the Environment in Oxford today.
Sir David King, Founding Director of the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment said:
"Our transport sector is hugely dependent on fossil fuels and we need to de-fossilise our economy as quickly as possible. We know most of the technologies already exist in delivering low carbon transportation and the T.25 and iStream® manufacturing processes are clear examples of how the transition can bring new and exciting developments".
The T.25 represents a major breakthrough in city car design in the areas of weight, footprint, safety, usability and efficiency. Whilst applying a holistic and fit for purpose approach to the design and development of the T.25, Gordon Murray Design have taken the opportunity to incorporate solutions to a multiple of urban mobility problems into the T.25 design.
A world leading 6 metre turning circle will help with urban manoeuvring and parking whilst its 1.3 metre width opens any opportunity for timed lane zones with 2 vehicles travelling and over taking in one lane. Combining this with the car length, could triple lane usage at peak times. The T.25's short length also opens an opportunity to park end on to the curb and the door opening allows 3 cars to be parked in one parallel parking space.
Gordon Murray Design was established in 2007 to develop an innovative and disruptive automotive manufacturing technology trademarked iStream® and the design and prototyping of the T.25 city car was central to both the development and validation of iStream®. This manufacturing process is now industrialised including final factory designs by specialist automotive consultants.
Holger Erker, Managing Director of IPE Engineering said:
"After a complete and comprehensive comparison of the process details and seeing the vehicle prototype build, our conclusion is affirmative that the innovative vehicle and process design of this project is outstanding. From our analysis the iStream®process can be positively qualified as the most promising manufacturing process development in the car industry of the next decade"
The iStream® assembly process is a complete rethink and redesign of the traditional manufacturing process and could potentially be the biggest revolution in high volume manufacture since the Model T. Development of the process began over 15 years ago and it has already won the prestigious 2008 'Idea of the Year' award from Autocar who were given privileged access in order to make their assessment. The simplified assembly process means that the manufacturing plant can be designed to be 20% of the size of a conventional factory.
This reduces capital investment in the assembly plant by at least 80%. Yet the flexibility of this assembly process means that the same factory could be used to manufacture different variants. The iStream® design process is a complete re-think on high volume materials, as well as the manufacturing process and will lead to a significant reduction in full lifecycle carbon monoxide.
* Low capital investment / fast return on investment.
* Lightweight.
* Low energy manufacturing.
* Ultra safe structure.
* Flexible product design.
* Long life chassis.
* Low cost variants.
* Recycled materials.
* Reduced distribution costs and damage.
* Low cost accident repair.
* Flexible body in white tooling.
* Small footprint production plant.
* De-centralised manufacturing and assembly opportunities.
* Quiet and clean plants.
* No paint plant at BIW assembly plant.
* Rapid vehicle assembly.
* Low capital investment in tooling.
The T.25 has recently been seen testing on public roads and has featured in many publications but the Smith School World Forum is the first public appearance and Gordon Murray Design are excited to now be able to release the first images of the car's interior and seating position.
Professor Gordon Murray, CEO & Technical Director of Gordon Murray Design said:
"We are very privileged to have been asked to show T.25 publicly for the first time at the World Forum as the aims of our Company are very much aligned with those of the Smith School and therefore this global event"
ENDS
Editor's Notes:
1. Gordon Murray Design Limited is a new British company operating from Shalford in Surrey. The Company aims to be the world leader in automotive design and reverses the current industry trend for sub-contracting by having a complete in-house capability for design, prototyping and development. The Company is compact and focused and undertakes automotive and other engineering programmes in an efficient and innovative way. For more information please visit www.gordonmurraydesign.com
2. The Smith School's mission is to influence and enable decision-makers in business and government to make well-informed decisions that address the energy, environment and sustainable development challenges confronting the world. It seeks to advance the knowledge and understanding of the role enterprise must play if we are to secure a sustainable low-carbon future. For more information please visit www.smithschool.ox.ac.uk
Tiffany Hutt, Head of Communications, Gordon Murray Design
tiffany.hutt@gordonmurraydesign.com +44 (0)1483 484700
T.25 USP's and Key Features
* The T.25 represents a major breakthrough in City Car design and is a vehicle that has been optimised through design for strength, performance, weight, cost, safety, usability, tooling, quality, energy efficiency, recyclable and ease of assembly.
* The T.25 external dimensions create the opportunity to:
o park at 90 degrees to the curb, offering real consumer benefits,
o park up to 3 cars in one parallel parking space - giving rise to lower parking charges.
o increase traffic flow,
o explore the possibility of 2 vehicles travelling and overtaking in one conventional lane. Combining this with the car length has the potential to triple lane usage at peak times.
o reduce the environmental impact of vehicle manufacture (ie: lower material content etc) and day-to-day operation.
* The central driving position generates:
o A unique, 'cool' and fun driving experience,
o promotes safety and ease of parking as a result of excellent all-round visibility and road awareness,
o the opportunity to offer a single-seater option with retrofit bolt-in rear seats,
o class-leading rear passenger leg room (better than most 'B-Segment' cars).
* By virtue of the unique door opening system, the T.25 can:
o be parked in very close proximity to other objects and still allow occupants to enter and exit the vehicle. This gives rise to,
o park 2 in one domestic garage,
o allow occupants access from both sides of the vehicle,
o allow easy access to the driver's seat and easy access to the rear child seats.
* The ultra lightweight by design (approximately 550kg) means that:
o component life is increased
o reduced energy is required to power vehicle, giving rise to higher fuel efficiency (mpg/electric battery range).
o a competitive power to weight ratio is achieved
* A world-leading 6 metre turning circle will enhance urban manoeuvring and parking.
* Body panels in the lower periphery of the car are all mechanically affixed and have split lines which are sympathetic to accident damage replacement, leading to rapid assembly times and low cost accident repair.
* First car in class to feature lightweight, low cost independent rear suspension.
* Wing mirrors are within the overall width of the body, thereby minimising accidental damage and subsequent mirror replacement.
* Design for purpose means that the vehicle has excellent pedestrian impact qualities.
* The inclusion of Formula 1 derived materials philosophy and technology coupled with chassis frame design ('Direct Load Path') gives an immensely strong structure ('safety cell') both in 'end' and 'side' impact scenarios. This is also designed to meet the cost targets of high volume production.
* Flat under-floor improves aerodynamic efficiency.
* Class-leading vehicle dynamics
* High level turn indicators for good visibility.
* Positioning of the fuel filler permits refueling from either side of the vehicle.
* Centralised driving instrumentation and controls are designed to maximize drive control.
* Six internal layout options with rear seat adjustment (adjustable within 20 seconds) sets new standards in small vehicle packaging – a long way in front of the Smart For 2 and the Toyota iQ.
* Occupant capacity of between 1 and 3 persons. Luggage capacity of between 160 litres and 720 litres.
* The T.25 has the potential to be first to market for a new "World Car Class" for efficient vehicles, demonstrating new levels of efficiency and low emissions – creating excellent publicity and marketing opportunities.
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