He may be known for petrol-powered supercars, but Gordon Murray is now tackling something very different: a small electric SUV.
The Gordon Murray Group has announced major expansion plans into the EV space with a £300 million ($543 million) investment that will see the creation of an electric SUV and a new division, Gordon Murray Electronics.
In an interview with Forbes, Murray described the SUV as being “a smallish B-segment car, four metres long, a four or five-seater… one third lighter than the competition [with] C-segment space in a B-segment vehicle”.
The goal for overall weight is around 1000kg, which is around 500kg less than a Hyundai Kona Electric.
Murray has always held his lightweight philosophy close to heart so expect this goal to be high on his list.
Auto Express reports the project won’t bear fruit until the end of 2023, as it’s only just leaving the conceptual stage.
The plan is for the electric architecture, which will also underpin a delivery van, to be licenced to companies that want to fast-track their entry into the EV market.
Using Gordon Murray Design’s iStream composite structure, the SUV and van will feature a skateboard chassis with electric motors and batteries but unique bodies.
The new GME division will build “the world’s lightest, most efficient and advanced EVs”.
Gordon Murray is certainly no stranger to car development having created one of the greatest supercars of all time, the McLaren F1.
Alongside jumping into the EV space, Murray is producing a spiritual successor to the F1: a three-seat, V12-powered supercar named the T.50 which will weigh just 986kg.
It’ll feature a naturally-aspirated engine and a manual transmission, a rarity in a supercar nowadays.
A more hardcore, track-oriented ‘S’ version is also in the works and will be built in very limited numbers.
It will have an even more powerful version of the standard T.50 engine and 1500kg of downforce.
For those interested in buying one, the T.50s will set you back $5.5 million – a lot more than GME’s potential electric SUV.
