David Williams:‘UrbanConcept’ car is a little vehicle that goes a long way

The shape of city motoring to come was revealed as Shell launched the first UK on-road trials of its tiny, two-man, ‘UrbanConcept’ car this week.

Capable of 280mpg, thanks to its highly developed engine and ultra-light bodywork, the car is the kind of vehicle experts say commuters could be using within a few years.

Shipped to London from Taiwan, it’s starring at this weekend’s Shell Eco-marathon, in which 173 students design and build their own super energy-efficient vehicles, then see who can go furthest on a litre of fuel. The aim of the competition — at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park (today, until May 28) and open to the public — is for students to showcase ideas for a lower-carbon future, as part of Shell’s ‘Make the Future Live’ event.

The microcar is driven by a four-stroke 125cc Yamaha high-compression single cylinder engine producing 9hp. Because it weighs under 300kgs and is highly streamlined, the engine is enough to whizz two people around in style.

It has a lightweight aluminium honeycomb chassis, while the bodywork is made up of carbon fibre and epoxy laminate with a paper honeycomb core. Its fuel tank holds just 350ml of petrol.

The UrbanConcept has a top speed of 25mph, claimed to be sufficient for inner-city driving. It has a tight turning circle of under nine feet — less than half that of a London black cab.

More at uk.makethefuture.shell