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Oil company Shell has created a concept car “from scratch” that it says is the future of city centre driving because of it’s small size and efficiency.
The car itself, including engine, has been designed from the ground up by Shell, along with partners Gordon Murray Design, with the finished product able to go 107 miles to the gallon in testing.
The design of the engine has been altered so that the oil better lubricates it. and as a result friction inside it is reduced – making it more efficient.
The concept is only 2.5 metres long and 1.35 metres wide, seating a single driver in the front and two passengers inside the 1.6 metre high body that weighs around 550 kilograms.
Formula One technology was used in some aspects of the design, and several components were also made using 3D printing.
Dr. Andrew Hepher, vice president of Shell’s lubricant research team, said: “Our car may be small, but it’s packed with potential. We want to accelerate the conversation about how we make road vehicles more energy efficient and less carbon-intensive.
“In the coming weeks and months, we look forward to sharing our research insights from this project with engine designers, car manufacturers, academics and other experts across the automotive sector.”
Shell also says the car uses around 34% less energy over its entire life cycle when compared to a typical city car in the UK.
The body is made of recycled carbon fibre in order to keep weight down, and Shell says that in independent testing the concept produced 32% less CO2 emissions than even a hybrid car.
An app has also been created that runs in sync with the car, feeding the driver live data on their energy consumption when using it.
However, Shell is yet to confirm if the car will ever go into production, maintaining that for now it is just a concept.
