Gordon Murray, the former Formula One vehicles designer, has unveiled an electric car which has been completely conceptualized and designed by him. Over the coming 16 months, as many as three prototypes of the car, called the T. 27 for now, will be developed.

The manufacturing plants for these innovative cars, called iStream, have been set up with investment worth ?9 Million, almost 50% of which has been given by the Government's Technology Strategy Board. As the electronic cars to be made do not require stamped steel, the iStream manufacturing plants will be about just one fifth the size of conventional car production plants.

David Bott, director of innovation platforms at the Technology Strategy Board, who is very excited about the new development, explained that all the parts will be designed and put together by computer instead of being "stamped out of metal sheets".

"It's a very radical approach to manufacturing", he shared. "Usually you talk about high value, or low carbon, or resource efficient manufacturing - this ticks all those boxes".

The light weight car is, in the words of Murray, "all about sustainable, low-energy process by design".