Final month’s revelation that Gordon Murray was engaged on a pair of electrical SUVs had loads of individuals questioning if the massive man with the loud shirts had offered out. Murray has at all times championed mild automobiles and nobody has ever accused a 4-5,000 lbs electrical SUV of being mild.
Nevertheless it sounds just like the engineering genius behind flyweights just like the T.50 (2,714 lbs / 986 kg), McLaren F1 (2,509 lbs / 1,138 kg), and Mild Automobile Firm Rocket (850 lbs / 385 kg) hasn’t ditched his ideas. The primary of the brand new electrical SUVs will weigh between 2,425 lbs (1,100 kg) and a pair of,645 lbs (1,200 kg), based on feedback made to Autocar by Philip Lee, the not too long ago appointed CEO of the Gordon Murray Group.
Okay, so though that is an SUV we’re speaking about, it’s clearly not a GMC Yukon. This GM machine is a small (and that’s small by European requirements) SUV, however one with seating for 4 individuals and room for his or her baggage. As Autocar factors out, that concentrate on weight vary means the Gordon Murray faux-by-four will tip the scales round 660-880 lbs (300-400 kg) lighter than a Renault Zoë EV.
And if the SUV actually does handle to make it to manufacturing weighing between 2,425 lbs (1,100 kg) and a pair of,645 lbs (1,200 kg) it is also lighter than some variations of the two-seat Mazda MX-5. Mazda’s American web site provides the curb weight of an MX-5 Miata RF Grand Touring with the guide transmission as 2,452 lbs (1,112 kg). Murray’s second SUV will probably be bigger, and subsequently heavier, however must also are available in considerably lighter than its mainstream opposition.
Associated: Right here’s The $1.85 m T.33, Gordon Murray’s 11,100-RPM Entry-Degree McLaren Mauler
Lee instructed Autocar the unimaginable curb weight is made potential partly because of the design of the batteries. They function an “immersive” fluid cooling system and are designed inside a inflexible case that types a part of the automotive’s construction, whereas nonetheless permitting upkeep entry. The CEO additionally says the batteries have a larger energy density and talent to resist temperature extremes.
One other key enabler within the pursuit of a low curb weight is the design of the platform itself. Gordon Murray Know-how, the sister firm of Gordon Murray Automotive, the agency accountable for the T.50 and T.33 hypercars, has developed three platforms, two of which will probably be utilized by the brand new SUV duo. And all three platforms are engineered utilizing classes discovered from the event of Gordon Murray’s iStream course of, which swaps standard stamped metal panels for a mix of a metallic spaceframe and composite sandwich panels. Murray claims constructing autos with an iStream construction requires much less vitality and a smaller plant footprint.