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Shell Concept Car Gets over 100 Miles Per Gallon


Shell Concept Car - 107MPG

Shell has unveiled a concept city car which, delivers amazing fuel economy of more than 100 miles per gallon.

Here are the numbers:

The car’s gasoline consumption has been measured using a range of vehicle testing protocols covering both steady state and urban driving styles. Sample test results include a steady state consumption of 107 miles per gallon [2.64Litres per 100km] [38km/Litres] [89.1 miles per gallon US] at 70kmph/45mph and an improvement of 4.67g CO2/km on the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) from the use of bespoke lubricants, equivalent to a 5% improvement in fuel efficiency compared to standard lubricants available in the UK.

The three seater car is tangible proof of energy efficiency improvements that can be achieved by using cutting edge technology available today through a process of “co-engineering” whereby vehicle body, engine design and lubricants are all created together.

Independent testing has concluded the car would use about 34% less energy over its entire lifecycle when compared to a conventional vehicle used for city driving in the UK. The Shell Concept Car would use around half the energy required to build and run than a typical small family car available in the UK and 69% less than that of a typical sports utility vehicle available in the UK

The Shell Concept Car is a rework of the Gordon Murray Design T.25 city car produced in 2010. Shell produced that car to work using a prototype oil to improve the vehicle’s energy efficiency. The new car is the result of a co- engineering collaboration between world leading vehicle, engine and lubricant designers, with each of the three elements of the vehicle tailored to work optimally

Mark Gainsborough, Executive Vice-President of Shell’s global lubricants businesses which backed the project said, “This is a significant automobile engineering milestone. I’m very proud of what Shell’s scientists and their partners at Geo Technology and Gordon Murray Design have achieved. Insights gained from this project could be transformational in terms of how we address energy use in the road transport sector. Energy use and climate change are major issues for society. This project shows that if we use the best of today’s technology, including cutting edge lubricants science, we could potentially have a major impact on energy use and reduce CO2 emissions. The improvement in economy derived from the collaborative design of engine and lubricant is impressive and highlights the enormous benefits achieved from close relationships between design partners. It also shows the powerful role that lubricants can potentially play in helping achieve CO2 reduction targets.”

Shell provided special fluids for the car. The oil was specially designed to reduce friction inside the engine.

The car uses cutting-edge lightweight technology. It weighs just 550kg – and is built using carefully chosen materials which have a low energy and CO2 footprint. There is ample use of lightweight, strong carbon fibre, which has been claimed from recycled sources. The design and engineering draws on the design team's experiences in Formula One racing.

The car makes use of a modified version of Shell’s Drive App via a smartphone. This App provides the driver with real time feedback via an on-screen graphic which emphasizes the fact that fuel consumption is highly dependent on driver’s behaviour.

From a styling perspective, the Shell Concept Car offers a new take on the ‘tall and narrow’ look, and dials up the fun factor with its sporty central driving position and two passenger seats behind. The design produces an extremely novel seating arrangement allowing three people to be carried despite the car’s diminutive exterior dimensions and gives it a turning circle smaller than that of a London taxi, making it ideal for urban driving.

Dr. Andrew Hepher, Vice President, of Shell’s lubricant research team said: “Our car may be small, but it’s packed with potential. We want to accelerate the conversation about how we make road vehicles more energy efficient and less carbon-intensive. In the coming weeks and months, we look forward to sharing our research insights from this project with engine designers, car manufacturers, academics and other experts across the automotive sector.”

Hyper Efficient Sheel Concept Car Design

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