Gordon Murray Design Limited have unveiled plans for a new, revolutionary small car which they hope will be as cool as the MINI, Smart, and Fiat 500, yet cost as little as £5000 to buy, and be so cheap to run that you should get that cost back “in savings” within four years.

Sounds quite incredible, especially from a man best known for his work designing the McLaren F1 super car. However Gordon Murray and his team appear deadly serious, have received heavy investment from US investor, MDV, and Caparo and have a two year plan to turn their ideas and concepts into reality.

Descriptions of the vehicle are understandably vague at this stage, however it is clear the focus of the mini (or maybe even micro) MPV, codenamed the T25, will be clever packaging and lightweight, strong construction.  There appears to be no intention to use alternative fuels, but rather the plan is to make the best of current technologies and to increase efficiency beyond those currently perceived as achievable with petrol engines.

The T25 will be developed for Europe and Japan initially, and should weigh in at around 500kg.  Not surprisingly for a car of diminutive dimensions, it will be designed primarily for urban use, for first time buyers and as a second car for families. A low part count will enable simple, cheap and green manufacturing. The Caparo Group, could put the T25 into production itself in its low-cost Indian manufacturing facilities, however more emphasis appears to lie with the route of offering the platform to various partners to produce their own variants of the car, similar to platform sharing we see Today among auto manufacturers.

Whether or not this new car could be a competitor to the MINI around town it’s impossible to say, but with the media hype and attention it has already received, it’s probably worth keeping an eye on this one!