2015 Yamaha Electric Car Taking Shape

As a legendary race engineer and the designer of the iconic McLaren F1 super car, Gordon Murray shouldn’t need an introduction. When he set out to design the most efficient EV in the world back in 2011, the world met the T.27 city car.It was a concept that was later bought by Yamaha, who re-packaged the T.27 as the MOTIV.e and, now, is set to begin full-scale production of Murray’s electric vision.

The new-for 2015 MOTIV.e Yamaha electric car will be among the first 4-wheeled vehicles to carry the Yamaha badge, though the company has a long history of building automotive engines for Ford, Volvo, and others. It’s a sharp-looking little city car, with size and style on-par with Aston Martin’s Cygnet. Late last year, the company released photos that showed what their new Yamaha electric car would look like …

… and what kind of performance the car will deliver when it launches …

… but, until now, we didn’t know any specifics regarding the car’s actual power train.

It’s been announced that EV specialists Zytek will supply the new Yamaha electric car with a 25 kW motor that spins to 15,000 rpm, which will be equipped with advanced cooling systems to keep everything operating at optimal temperatures. The Zytek-sourced power unit has been designed to be inexpensive, lightweight and compact- and the end result shows just how good those guys are. The motor weighs less than 30 lbs., with the car’s gearbox and power inverter weighing about 40 additional lbs., combined.

You can get a better look at the new Zytek motor, below- but, before you do, check this out:

That- you eagle-eyed reader, you- is what a full line-up of electric Yamaha cars might (will?) look like, if the MOTIV.e does well enough to warrant Yamaha taking further steps to compete with Tesla, Fisker, and its cross-town rivals at Honda in the automotive segment. Notice how there’s a logical progression at work, here, just like Yamaha mapped out when they introduced their electric motorcycle line-up.

Here’s hoping Yamaha cars become a thing, then. While you wait, here’s that Zytek engine I promised you. Enjoy!

Source | More photos: Yamaha, via Gizmag.