'There is another way'

Back in 2008 Professor Gordon Murray (above) prophesied: “If we don’t do anything, we’re going to have restricted used of our cars very soon – within the next 10 to 15 years.”

The designer of the McLaren F1 as well as a string of successful Formula One racing cars, Murray felt manufacturers had been slow to make progress in this area.

One reason for this, he believes, is weight.

“If you could take 10% off the weight of every car on the planet overnight it would make so much more difference than all the new engine and fuel technologies people are talking about,” he says.

Two years on, Gordon Murray Designs has established iStream – an assembly process that is claimed to be a complete rethink and redesign of the conventional manufacturing process.

The simplified approach means the manufacturing plant can be 20% of the size of a conventional factory, cutting capital outlay as well as significantly reducing full lifecycle CO2 emissions.

Now the company has produced the T.25 city car, which utilises the iStream principle.

This innovative little vehicle features a 6m turning circle to help with parking and urban manoeuvring and parking.

At just 1.3m wide it opens up the possibility of two vehicles travelling and overtaking in one lane.

The car’s short length means lane usage could be tripled at peak times and, by parking end-on to the kerb, three cars can occupy a single conventional space.