British drivers have had little access to ‘kei class’ micro cars – tiny sub-one litre cars that are efficient, practical, stylish and fun to drive. Until now.
Perhaps it takes a motorcycle manufacturer to shake up the European city car market. Yamaha has announced it is to launch its tiny Motiv ‘kei class’ car in Europe within five years to meet rising demand for energy-efficient vehicles.
The Yamaha Motiv is 5cm narrower and 6cm lower than the Smart ForTwo city car. In its all-electric version, the Motiv-E weighs in at only 730kg including its lithium ion battery.
The tiny Motiv.E is expected to have a 0-60 time of under 15 seconds and manage 100 miles on a single charge.
In its petrol-powered variant, the Motiv will conform to Japan’s kei class restrictions, which govern size, weight and power. This class of micro car is subject to stringent regulation, but it a reputation for excellent handling as well as fuel efficiency.
iStream: A new way to build cars
Gordon Murray, the car designer responsible for some of the most exotic supercars and F1 designs of recent times, is convinced that the day of the big car is passing and is turning his hand to the manufacture of efficient city cars.
Murray is best known for his McClaren Mercedes, but that could be about to change because Yamaha has teamed up with him to take advantage of his ‘iStream’ manufacturing process.
In a return to a method of construction not seen in mainstream vehicles for many decades, the Murray car would feature a separate chassis and body. Modern vehicles of all types use a monocoque construction, This approach is strong and efficient because the vehicles strength is in its external skin, but the set-up costs for this type of manufacturing are huge.
iStream uses simple and lightweight steel space frames clad in recycled, composite panels which form a monocoque.
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