The Shell Project M car is the result of a technology partnership between Gordon Murray Design, Shell Lubricants and engine specialists Geo Technology. Over the past few years, the trio has co-engineered the car’s body, engine and lubricants to minimise fuel use and CO2 emissions. It is hoped that by achieving a three-digit mpg number will inspire fresh thinking about personal mobility while minimising energy using existing technologies and materials. The space-age car recently showcased is a reengineered version of Gordon Murray’s T25 city car, produced in 2010. To learn more about Project M and its potential, just-auto were among the first group to drive it.
Team work
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The partners came together to design and build an ultra-compact, efficient car for city use based around the internal combustion engine. They have used novel aspects of lightweighting, streamlining and driveline efficiency. The last time the three parties worked together was way back in 1988 on Ayrton Senna’s and Alain Prost’s McLaren-Honda MP4/f F1 car.
Initiated by Shell, the collaboration is called Project M. In explaining the background to Project M, Bob Mainwaring, Shell Innovation Technology Manager, told just-auto: “The world uses huge amounts of energy. About 90 percent is fossil fuels. Over time, we need to wean ourselves off that. But to achieve that, many people have to change many things and it takes many years. Our point is that [Project M] is achievable today without changes in infrastructure.”
On the track
With the main presentations over, the concept car was carefully manoeuvred from its position centre stage to the city driving course at Millbrook’s proving ground.
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By GlobalDataTo get into the car, the futuristic front cabin area – that incorporates the windscreen, side windows and front of the roof – tilts forward to reveal three seats; the driver sits front, centre with passenger seats set close on either side. To get going required pushing the starter button, releasing the handbrake and selecting drive mode.
Although the prototype felt unfinished to drive – for instance, missing acoustical refinements such as floor carpet thereby making it feel quite loud at times – it is not intended for production. It does, however, have plenty of noteworthy technical advances.
Lightweight design
The most notable is its lightweight design that combines a low-cost recycled carbon fibre composite body with a steel tubular frame. This part of the car was thanks to Gordon Murray Design’s iStream concept that enabled the team to build a car weighing in at 550kg, or about 250kg lighter than a Smart car and 80kg lighter than the original T25. The low-energy iStream manufacturing process uses lightweight materials to cut assembly costs, and reduces the capital investment required to produce a car.
The former McLaren F1 designer, Gordon Murray told just-auto: “This project is based on the T25 – that was our first demonstrator for iStream. It was never meant to be for sale but just a physical entity to showcase what iStream was. And we thought that we would optimise that. Working with Geo Technologies and Shell, I had to push the designers much harder on aero, waste saving and that has actually moved iStream on. We now have Yamaha and TVR using technologies from this car.”
The partners say the car’s body can be assembled for a quarter the price of a conventional steel car. They add that, if the exterior body had been made of steel then the number of parts required to produce the front clamshell would have been a minimum of five, which would require more mountings, fixings and surface split lines on the final car.
Its lightweight construction helps it achieve 107 mpg, tested at a steady speed of 45mph. At 2.5 metres in length, the car has a turning circle of six metres. Also worthy of note is that 3D printing was used to make certain parts of the car, including the dashboard. The digital instrument display and dour-mounted rear-view cameras add to the tomorrow’s world driving feel.
Engine innovations
Its lightweight design is also thanks to that fact that it does not incorporate heavy batteries or hybrid technology. Instead, the prototype uses a conventional petrol engine – teamed with an automatic transmission – mounted at the rear with custom made parts to reduce friction and improve performance.
Starting with a 660cc, three-cylinder engine from Mitsubishi, Geo Technology redesigned a number of the parts associated with friction. For example, the piston design was slimmed down to reduce weight and friction. The valve train components were coated with diamond-like carbon to minimise friction and preserve wear control. The compression ratio was raised to enhance efficiency at light load.
Lubricants
While the lightweight design and engine innovations conserve fuel, lubricants perform a similar role. Shell played its part by formulating an engine oil using the same technology as its Helix Ultra and Penzoil Platinum products. The result gives a five percent fuel economy improvement alone.
Generally-speaking, engine oil needs to be as thin as possible, for the purpose of fuel economy, yet thick enough to protect the engine under the harshest conditions. Shell uses its so-called PurePlus Technology, claiming that its viscosity changes less with temperature and it is more resistant to high temperature than conventional oils. So, for the Project M car, Shell used this technology base oil and incorporated additives, namely: detergents and dispersants for cleanliness, anti-wear additives to help reduce wear at low viscosities and antioxidants to keep the oil fresh. The net result is a very thin, high performance oil for fuel economy. To help give it protection and reduce friction, viscosity and friction modifiers were added.
Next steps
Executives we spoke to also emphasised their aim to use this project to both start and maintain conversations with the auto industry about how to make cars more energy efficient and less carbon intensive. As for the next steps, the partners say they are in “serious discussions” with a number of OEMs. Above all, they hope the insights gained from the project to date will directly influence how the auto industry addresses energy use in the road transport sector.
See also: Global vehicle lightweighting – technology, trends and the future
and
Global light vehicle materials market – forecasts to 2031
