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Gordon Murray wants to build an electric SUV that’s lighter than the Fiesta


Image for article titled Gordon Murray thinks he can build an electric SUV that's heavier than my Fiesta

Picture: Gordon Murray Cars

When Gordon Murray announced his intention not to be one but two battery-powered SUVs, he promises them will “change the way we think about vehicle range and dynamics anxiety.” Murray has a penchant for such grandiose claims, but he also technical royalties – so he tends to get the benefit of the doubt. Even so, I never expected that the designer of McLaren F1 will seek to build an SUV that is lighter than a subcompact.

Still, that’s exactly what Murray intends to do, according to Philip Lee, the new CEO of the Gordon Murray Group, which includes Gordon Murray Automotive – maker of the T.50 and T.33 performance cars – and Gordon Murray Technology, which deals with the engineering side, sometimes for other automakers.

One of the two SUVs will be sold as a GMA product; the other will be designed for an unnamed client. It’s a GMA-branded vehicle that is supposed to weigh between 1,100 and 1,200 kilograms, Lee said Autocar. That works out to 2,425 to 2,645 pounds.

As you might think, this won’t match Ford Bronco in size, or even a Bronco Sport; it was dubbed the “supermini”, built to carry four passengers “plus luggage”. I assume no everyone’s baggage, and maybe just merchandise belonging to one, possibly two very lucky occupants.

Autocar compares it to Renault Zoe – a five-door electric-battery subcompact that’s been on sale for over 12 years now and weighs about 3,200 pounds. My Fiesta ST weighs about 2,740 pounds, but are not there is a floor made of concrete – er, pin. The fact that Murray is envisioning a vehicle that’s lighter but still lighter is a pretty big deal.

Curious how he would pull it out? We, too! All we can say right now is that the batteries will be particularly energy efficient, due to a unique cooling scheme, and they will be a structurally integral part of the vehicle. The latter is not unusual; Many upcoming EVs will be built in a similar way. From the article:

One key to the SUVs’ market-leading lightness is said to be the new ‘immersive’ liquid cooling technique used for their batteries, mounted in a rigid i-Case that allows access maintain the battery but still form part of the vehicle’s structure. This allows them to have a higher power density and better ability to handle extreme temperatures.

Since this is Gordon Murray, I surreptitiously suspect another trick he’ll use to accomplish his lofty goal: loads of expensive, high-end materials. I don’t know if that’s true of course, I’m purely conjecture. But this is the same company that brought us 1.85 million dollars T.33 “daily supercar” and 3 million dollars T.50. I’m no engineer, but I know you can nearly break any perceived technological limit as long as money is no object.



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