Morgan's eco car

By Ben Barry

First Official Pictures

15 March 2007 05:05

Morgan Life Car: the lowdown

Morgan, that most traditional of British brands, has announced it will launch a zero-emissions car called the Life Car at next year’s Geneva show. Based on the regular Aero chassis, the Life Car is part DTI-funded and involves partnerships with Oxford University and a company that developed fuel-cell technology for military applications – such as providing medical teams with power during conflicts. The Life Car is predicted to weigh 600kg, have a small fuel cell delivering 33bhp and, erm, no brakes. Instead, in-wheel electric motors – something Mitsubishi has long experimented with – will act as both power generators under acceleration and play the much-needed retardation role under braking, at which point they’ll store the energy lost under braking and feed it back into the system when required. While much remains to be done on the project, it is well under way. Watch this space.

By Ben Barry