New electric sports car to create waves?
Cutting edge… the Teewave AR.1
GORDON Murray Design and Toray Industries have announced a collaboration over an electric sports car prototype called Teewave AR.1.
The commission for the car was given to Gordon Murray Design by Toray, who asked them to design and make a full working vehicle utilising many of Toray’s advanced car materials to fulfil Toray’s concept of a car which everyone would find an attractive proposition.
The car is a two-seater and uses Toray’s carbon fibre component system, which requires a processing time of less than 10 minutes. The carbon monocoque, a key component of the Teewave, has been designed to be used in any type of vehicle.
It took just nine months from initial discussions to producing a working car. The power train is taken from a current commercial electric vehicle, but the electrics and control units are the work of Gordon Murray Design.
On the safety front, a carbon front impact structure was designed and put through a variety of Euro NCap tests.
The AR.1 is very light, just 850kg (and that includes 240kg for the battery) which means the car is around the same weight as a Lotus Elise and 400kg lighter than a Tesla. High torque figures result in lively acceleration.
By putting a lot of design work into the low centre of gravity and setting up the suspension, the AR.1 has good ride and handling qualities.