Gordon Murray's T.25 Minicar Spawns T.27 Electric Variant

It’s been a while since we heard about Gordon Murray and the British engineer’s enigmatic T.25 minicar. The last we heard, Gordon Murray and his eponymous design and engineering firm Gordon Murray Design had built a prototype for his new minicar, revealing details about its revolutionary ‘iStream’ manufacturing process and announcing that an electric version would eventually join the gasoline and diesel powered models.

Now the first specs have been revealed for the electric version, which has been codenamed the T.27 and is already testing in prototype form. From a clean sheet of paper to a running prototype, the T.27 program has taken just 17 months including the design and manufacture of a completely new electric powertrain by Zytek Automotive.

According to Gordon Murray Design, the T.27--and its internal combustion siblings--will set new standards in weight, footprint, small car dynamics, safety, packaging and efficiency whilst addressing CO2 emissions, congestion, parking and low cost motoring.

The prototype features a 25 kW (34 horsepower) electric motor that is powered by a lithium-ion battery. While this output may appear low, it only needs to move a vehicle with a total curb weight of 1,500 pounds.

Initial performance estimates include a 0-60 mph time of less than 15 seconds, a top speed of 65 mph and a range of 100 miles on a single charge.

Gordon Murray Design is now in the process of contract talks with three manufacturers for the T.27, with an eye to have the cars in showrooms by as early as next year.

[Gordon Murray Design]

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