Oil giant Shell, in conjunction with race- and road-car design legend Gordon Murray and engine specialist Osamu Goto, will co-engineer an ultra-compact efficient car for city use based around the internal combustion engine. The “Shell car” is intended to be a simple, practical global city car, incorporating the most innovative aspects of light-weight engineering, streamlining and driveline efficiency. The concept is intended to inspire thinking about maximizing personal mobility while minimizing energy use in the world’s ever-more-congested cities where by 2050, it is estimated that up to three-quarters of the world’s (by then) nine billion people will live. “Project M” was officially launched at the Americas round of the Shell-sponsored Eco-marathon in Detroit, in April.
Designer Gordon Murray of McLaren fame pens the “Shell car,” which is intended as a global-transportation solution.
