Fig. 2. Gordon Murray Design has created the T.25 as a compact, lightweight city car that is manufactured using a new energy- efficient production process known as iStream.
more sustainable than one fabricated from steel, plus it is more cost-effective over the vehicle’s lifetime and does not increase the price for the consumer. Since Spowers was interviewed for European Design Engineer in 2009, Riversimple has been joined by Christopher Reitz, who previously headed the design team at Fiat, where he was responsible for the Fiat 500, before moving to Alfa Romeo. The first task for Reitz is to take the existing design for the urban car and develop it to a stage where 30 can be built for testing in the UK city of Leicester, with users getting their first cars in the summer of 2012. These will be trialled for a year, with drivers providing feedback on their experience. Another former race car designer, Professor Gordon
Murray, has also taken a holistic approach to the design of a lightweight urban car. Initially his firm, Gordon Murray Design, created the T.25 as a compact, lightweight city car
(Fig. 2). The T.25 is a three-seater with a rear-mounted three- cylinder petrol engine. Having subsequently teamed up with Zytek Automotive, a UK-based company with extensive experience in electric and hybrid vehicle powertrains, an electric version of the car has been designed, known as the T.27.
Pure electric
Based on the T.25, the T.27 is a pure electric vehicle using a 25 kW motor and 12 kWh lithium-ion batteries. Recycled materials are incorporated within the innovative composite panels that add stiffness and integrity to the ‘exoframe’ primary structure. However, one of the most important aspects of the design of the T.25 and T.27 is Gordon Murray Design’s low-energy iStream manufacturing process, which utilises a monocoque but with body panels that are
iStream manufacturing process T
his innovative iStream vehicle manufacturing process
developed by Gordon Murray Design utilises a separate body chassis assembly process. During the first part of the process the powertrain, wiring harnesses, brakes, suspension and all major components are fitted directly onto the chassis prior to the body panels being fitted. Body panels are delivered to the
line pre-painted and are ‘married’ to the completed chassis near the
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end of the assembly process, thereby helping to reduce the risk of paint damage.
All external panels can be mechanically fixed to the chassis, which aids the assembly process efficiency and simplifies repairs to accident damage. Other advantages of the iStream
process include the way in which the chassis can be used as a standard platform on which different variants or vehicles can be built - even on the same production line. Entirely
new variants can also be introduced quickly and with minimal investment in tooling, and existing vehicles can be modified either to change the specification or to make cosmetic changes. A strategic advantage of the
iStream process lies in the fact that a central plant could be established for manufacturing frames and painted panels, which could then be distributed to small assembly facilities located close to the points of demand. l
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