This week F1 designer Gordon Murray will reveal his company's latest creation: an autonomous “bubble” vehicle called Motiv.
Former technical director for Brabham and McLaren Racing, Professor Gordon Murray he decided to start his own business in 2005. Over the years he has already produced many interesting projects, but Motiv, honestly said, beats them all.
La GMDGordon Murray Design has partnered with Delta Motorsport and itMoves. They will help him develop his Motiv, a self-driving fully electric single-seater vehicle, for personal mobility, driving and commercial delivery applications.
“Motiv has the potential to transform future mobility”Said Murray. “The best way to make any vehicle commercially viable and affordable, while still offering world-class efficiency, is to make it as light as possible while maintaining the highest levels of safety. With Motiv we used our iStream technologies to create an ultra-lightweight body structure. The result is a vehicle that is compact, refined, safe and versatile, whilst remaining capable of achieving significant range.”
The Motiv presents itself as an alternative to small vehicles that sport plenty of seating but often carry a single occupant through city streets. A recent Transport for London survey showed that up to 60% of cars and vans in London have a single occupant, a figure which is estimated to rise to 80% in the rest of the UK. The Motiv was designed with this type of user in mind.
A few more details on Motiv
This autonomous, ready-to-use zero-emission private transportation experience rides on 13-inch wheels, features a 20 kW electric motor and comes with a 17,3 kWh liquid-cooled battery pack under the floor. With one charge it travels 100km and recharges to 80% in 40 minutes.
The Pod Motiv for one person, rear-wheel drive, will move from 0 to 62 km / h in 7,5 seconds, before going to the maximum speed (so to speak) of 65 km per hour, however well calibrated for use in urban areas.
Motiv is relatively compact, 1,62m high, 2,5m long and 1,3m wide, and its weight is less than 450kg thanks to the use of a high-strength extruded aluminum frame, aluminum suspension and composite doors . The weight does not include the battery pack, but GDM claims that a relatively small battery module can be used without affecting range.
One door, but gull-winged
Motiv features a unique gull-wing door with contactless access. The interior features a 24-inch display, an integrated air conditioning system and space for a laptop. The internal volumes can be adapted for different usage scenarios: wheelchair users, parcel delivery etc. Murray developed Motiv to meet European car crash safety standards and aims for three main objectives: small footprint, first-class interior and an “urban” image.
The project is partially funded by the British government's IDP14 program. It is a research and development funding that offers financial support for projects aimed at accelerating the transition towards zero-emission transport.
Murray is looking to partner with autonomous driving technology providers, with the aim of bringing Motiv to market within 2-5 years. This timing is highly dependent on approval for autonomous transport by the authorities, a technology which has already accumulated thousands of hours in testing but is still being treated (in part rightly) with caution by the authorities.
