Car designer Gordon Murray, known largely for his work in Formula 1 and with McLaren, says progress is going well for the development of the MOTIV.e City Car electric vehicle for Yamaha, according to Autocar. The MOTIV.e was on display at the Cenex Low Carbon Vehicle event at Millbrook, where Murray updated the attendees about the state of the project.
It was the first showing of the car in the UK since it debuted at the 2013 Tokyo Motor Show. Murray says that he has been getting positive signals from Yamaha, which has yet to give its final approval. "It's all good news and we expect an important announcement in November or December," says Murray. We look forward to hearing more soon.
Murray says that besides just the electric powertrain, a gasoline-powered version of the car is also in the works. This could be in reference to the sports car Murray spoke of late last year, which he said would be based on the MOTIV.e platform. Considering the claimed flexibility of Murray's iStream manufacturing system, we won't be surprised if we see other cars based on the MOTIV.e.
In all, Murray seems quite happy with the undertaking and the nature of the relationship with Yamaha. "Yamaha's people are brilliant engineers and great to work with," Murray says. "The company is the perfect co-operative partner when you're doing a project like this."
On a bit of a side note, Murray says that in addition to the MOTIV.e EV, he has eight different vehicles in development, including a low-cost, flat-packing light truck called Ox.
It was the first showing of the car in the UK since it debuted at the 2013 Tokyo Motor Show. Murray says that he has been getting positive signals from Yamaha, which has yet to give its final approval. "It's all good news and we expect an important announcement in November or December," says Murray. We look forward to hearing more soon.
The signs point to the car coming closer to production. Murray says, "We've been doing a great deal behind the scenes on things like model range, factory layout and production procedures." The MOTIV.e uses Murray's own manufacturing process, called iStream, which uses composite technology borrowed from Formula 1 to produce cars efficiently, with maximum flexibility and low environmental impact.The MOTIV.e uses Murray's own manufacturing process, called iStream.
Murray says that besides just the electric powertrain, a gasoline-powered version of the car is also in the works. This could be in reference to the sports car Murray spoke of late last year, which he said would be based on the MOTIV.e platform. Considering the claimed flexibility of Murray's iStream manufacturing system, we won't be surprised if we see other cars based on the MOTIV.e.
In all, Murray seems quite happy with the undertaking and the nature of the relationship with Yamaha. "Yamaha's people are brilliant engineers and great to work with," Murray says. "The company is the perfect co-operative partner when you're doing a project like this."
On a bit of a side note, Murray says that in addition to the MOTIV.e EV, he has eight different vehicles in development, including a low-cost, flat-packing light truck called Ox.
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