Shell Concept Car

Shell Concept Car £n/a

WE SAY: OK, SO THIS WON’T BE SETTING NEW QUARTER-MILE RECORDS, BUT...

This isn’t a car, it’s a rolling treatise on energy reduction. And yes, you are right in thinking this is Gordon Murray’s T25 city car. Although no marque has stepped forward to turn it into a production reality since it appeared in 2012, development hasn’t stopped, and Gordon Murray has partnered with Shell and engine specialists Geo Technology to explore more ways to reduce emissions.

Andy Jones, design director at Gordon Murray Design, calls it the weight waterfall – removing weight from one area means you can take more from another. So no stone has been left unturned: body, suspension, brakes, steering, exhaust, cooling, interior. There’s practically no NVH materials in it. Weight has come down from 627kg to 550kg. So no power steering needed to turn the 145/70 R13 tyres, and outputs of 43bhp and 47lb ft are enough to push it along at up to 100mph.

The 3cyl engine started life in a kei car, but aside from head and block everything else is altered and the lubrication designed to match the engine. Shell claims this reduces friction, boosting efciency by fve per cent. It uses 0W-12 oil that’s about the consistency of espresso. The message from Shell is that lubrication shouldn’t be overlooked in the quest to reduce emissions.

Is the car itself viable? I hope so. The packaging is amazing – three adults, plus a 160-litre boot that extends to 720 litres with the rear seats folded. Yet it’s small enough to ft on a table tennis table. The central driving position is easy to adapt to, the only curiosity the tall, upright, van-like driving position due to the packaging.

Driving it is novel. You feel vulnerable as you sit so close to the perimeter, but a four star Euro NCAP test is predicted. The six-metre turning circle is two metres less than a black cab’s. It feels spritely, smooth and refned enough. But inside towns only.

It may look weird, but there’s genius at work here. Let’s hope something sprouts from this small acorn.