Shell has today unveiled a concept city car which, if it were ever to go into production, could deliver material reductions in energy use in the road transport sector. 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 and a rigorous life-cycle study shows that Shell’s Concept Car would deliver a 34 per cent reduction in primary energy use over its entire lifecycle when compared to a typical city car available 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 per cent less than that of a typical sports utility vehicle available in the UK

The Shell Concept Car is a total rethink of the Gordon Murray Design T.25 city car produced in 2010 for which Shell produced 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 with each other. It takes a holistic view on energy reduction focusing on design material selection; reduced energy demand via aggressive downsizing, and streamlining while enhancing the efficiency of energy delivery through innovative engine design and lubricant formulation to minimise the impact in terms of overall energy lifecycle use.

The car’s fuel 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 107mpg at 45mph and an improvement of 4.67g/km on the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) from the use of bespoke lubricants, equivalent to a five per cent improvement in fuel efficiency compared to standard lubricants available in the UK.

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.”

The Shell Concept Car was independently tested at a UK certified automotive testing facility alongside a range of other cars under comparable conditions to measure fuel economy and CO₂ emissions. In the formal NEDC test the Shell Concept Car produced lower CO₂ emissions than both a typical petrol-powered city car (28%) and a hybrid car (32%).

Dr Andrew Hepher, Vice President, of Shell’s lubricant research team added: “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.”