These days, McLaren F1 designer Gordon Murray is working on a project that is remarkably different from the supercar that made him famous. It's a pair of city cars called the T.25 and T.27, and he recently announced they will hit the road in 2016.
The T.25 is a tiny three-seat car that puts the driver in the center (he's big on those, it seems) with a compact and efficient three-cylinder gasoline engine. The T.27 is a similarly tiny electric car. Both are lightweight, inexpensive, and will be touted as new British motoring icons akin to the original Mini.
Murray's cars have existed in concept form for a while now, but he recently said on his official website that the concepts have been sold to an unnamed customer he expects will build them in 2016.
Official press drives were organised for the T.25 and T.27 exclusively with Autocar, Top Gear and Fifth Gear, and I’m delighted to report that everyone enjoyed their driving experience in our little cars. The T.25 and T.27 concept has now been sold to a customer and with a following wind a lot more drivers should be able to enjoy the centre drive experience in 2016!
From what we've heard about the T.25 and T.27 so far, they will be built using revolutionary production techniques and more than a few engineering cues from F1.
Let's hope this pans out. If anyone can pull it off, Gordon Murray can.