F1 designer Murray unveils lightweight city car

[aiasib]

"Imagine a car so narrow that two can drive next to each other in one lane; a car so small and short that three can park in one parking space.

Now imagine that the car is built in a shed from glass fibre, recycled plastic bottles and hollow steel tubes, using just a fifth of the material required to build a conventional car.

Well, that car has been made.


It seats three, weighs just 575kg, has a top speed of almost 100mph and is expected to cost about £6,000 ($9,000)."


Scroll down for technical specs.




What do you guys think?

[RacingManiac]

I think the problem as with all microcar is the perception of safety. It might very well be safe, but it'll he hard pressed for people to believe it....

[pimento]

The problem with the side by side in a lane thing is that it'll never be allowed and some roads just aren't wide enough for it - around here, anyway. There are some roads with lanes that are basically the width of a truck/lorry. Your first time driving next to one is a little harrowing...

[Matra et Alpine]

^^ bikers do side-by-side all the time.
It will happen ONCE there are enough of these on the road.
What will be interesting is if any of them will try to "filter" - go between lanes of traffic - when cars are stuck in long queues

[pimento]

Again, here there's no chance - many major roads are too tight for even MC filtering, unless you have a relatively narrow bike. Sucks...

[2ndclasscitizen]

Again, here there's no chance - many major roads are too tight for even MC filtering, unless you have a relatively narrow bike. Sucks...

You're just not trying hard enough.

[wwgkd]

Being able to fit them side by side and being able to safely drive side by side are two different things. Motorcycles are much narrower than this. I hate hearing about 2-3 in a parking place, too. What happens when people want to get out? Pick it up and carry it?

[TVR IS KING]

I believe it says on the site that the two side by side in a lane thing is a good idea for traffic jams, but not necessarily during regular driving.
What's the problem with two in a parking space, wwgkd?

[wwgkd]

I believe it says on the site that the two side by side in a lane thing is a good idea for traffic jams, but not necessarily during regular driving.
What's the problem with two in a parking space, wwgkd?

If you stack them up in a parking place, the drivers in front are blocked in. It doesn't matter how short they are, they still take up a space, same as a motrocycle in a regular vehicle space. If you have specially designed spaces such as for motorcycles that could take advantage of the shortness as well as thinnes, you'd have to do entire rows in a parking lot, rather than a couple near the entrance like they do for motorcycles. Otherwise you'd just have a wide spot in the lane, then normal spaces, with no real increase in effeciency. Exception on the length restriction is parallel parking of course.

Selling it as something which can save tons of parking space only works if everyone else is driving the same thing. I keep hearing how these cars should be charged less in a paid parking lot because they take up less space but they take up a full parking place, they just waste most of it. Don't sell it on parking effeciency until you can sell it to everyone first, then redesign the lots.

[2ndclasscitizen]

If you stack them up in a parking place, the drivers in front are blocked in. It doesn't matter how short they are, they still take up a space, same as a motrocycle in a regular vehicle space. If you have specially designed spaces such as for motorcycles that could take advantage of the shortness as well as thinnes, you'd have to do entire rows in a parking lot, rather than a couple near the entrance like they do for motorcycles. Otherwise you'd just have a wide spot in the lane, then normal spaces, with no real increase in effeciency. Exception on the length restriction is parallel parking of course.

Selling it as something which can save tons of parking space only works if everyone else is driving the same thing. I keep hearing how these cars should be charged less in a paid parking lot because they take up less space but they take up a full parking place, they just waste most of it. Don't sell it on parking effeciency until you can sell it to everyone first, then redesign the lots.

These things will probably be able to park nose-to-the-curb in parallel parks, like Smart cars can.

[pimento]

Yea, there's no doors to hit the other cars with... though the other cars have doors, so there's an issue...

My main issue with filtering is that my mirrors are the same height as car mirrors, so even if my bars are low enough the mirrors are in the way. Also the GS has pretty wide bars to start with. The postie is a lot better in that regard...

[S.O.S]

I remember a smart car sandwich between 2 trucks. they might have missed it, until the trucks were separated. chills thinking about it.

[Rockefella]

The revelation here is not the car itself but the manufacturing process that will allow for great flexibility and cost savings.

[2ndclasscitizen]

Yea, there's no doors to hit the other cars with... though the other cars have doors, so there's an issue...

My main issue with filtering is that my mirrors are the same height as car mirrors, so even if my bars are low enough the mirrors are in the way. Also the GS has pretty wide bars to start with. The postie is a lot better in that regard...

Get a set of bar end mirrors and fit them hanging down below the bars.

[pimento]

Yea, that'd work..