Zytek, the engine supplier to A1GP in their first three seasons, is inline for a government investment of £4.5m towards the devolopement of a small electric vehicle with Gordon Murray Design.

Zytek Automotive Technology will supply the electric propulsion and battery with Gordon Murray Design building the car using a new cost reduction production system.

Steve Tremble, Zytek sales and marketing director, says: “We made electric engines and control systems already, so we had the essentials to produce an electric drive system.”

The T.27 that Zytek will produce with Gordon Murray will also target the urban runabout market, though the layout of the under-wraps vehicle promises to be unconventional.

The manufacturing process, called iStream, has received £9m of investment, half of which came from the government’s Technology Strategy Board.

iStream plants can be just one fifth of the size of a conventional car factory, as the cars are not made from stamped steel.

All the parts are designed by computer and welded together rather than being stamped out of metal sheets, explained David Bott, director of innovation platforms at the Technology Strategy Board.

The T.27 car is designed for city or town use. Its predecessor, the T.25, weighs 600kg – half the weight of an average small family car.

Gordon Murray, F1 designer and inventor of iStream, has been refining the technology since 1999, and has recruited former colleagues from his days at F1.

The T.27 can reach 60 miles per hour and is designed to travel up to 100 miles in between recharges.

“It’s for commuting, picking the kids up, that sort of thing,” said Mr Murray.