Gordon Murray to Unveil Driverless City ‘Quadricycle’
Racing automotive technology specialist Gordon Murray Design will unveil a single-person city driverless “quadricycle” at a London mobility show tomorrow.
The vehicle to be debuted at MOVE 2020 is designed to meet car crash safety requirements. Dubbed MOTIV, it is fully-electric and hopes to achieve significant cost savings and improved refinement over its rivals, while delivering the range capabilities, platform flexibility and plug-and-play versatility required by autonomous customers with personal mobility or commercial delivery requirements.
The pod-like vehicle employs the design company’s iStream Superlight technology and claims the potential to significantly reduce congestion and emissions in city centers owing to its electric powertrain and compact footprint measuring 5.35-ft high, 8.32-ft in length and 4.29-ft wide. Later it can be adapted to seat multiple occupants for wheelchair use or even for commercial deliveries. In its goods transportation form, the platform can be altered to enable maximum load capacity, creating a volume of more than 1,100-liters.
MOTIV is powered by a 20kW electric motor and will be equipped with a 17.3kWh liquid-cooled battery pack providing a potential range of up to 60 miles. It will operate at speeds of up to 40mph and is equipped with CCS charging capability and claims to recharge from 20% to 80% battery in 40 minutes.
The vehicle was a product of Gordon Murray’s work with consortium partners Delta Motorsport and itMoves part-funded through the UK government’s IDP14 program. To support its transition to autonomous road use, the consortium aims to partner with autonomous technology providers for multiple pilot studies. Dependent on application and legislation, this will be the vehicle’s final development stage ahead of mass production within two to five years.
Professor Gordon Murray CBE, chairman of Gordon Murray Group, said: “MOTIV has the potential to transform future mobility. The best way to make any vehicle commercially viable and cost-effective, while delivering first-class efficiency, is to make it as light as it can be while retaining the highest levels of safety.”
— Paul Myles is a seasoned automotive journalist based in London. Follow him on Twitter @Paulmyles_
