Shell brings its 38kpl concept car to India

Global oil major Shell’s just-inaugurated technology centre in Bangalore is set to be a key cog in its global R&D ecosystem. Built on a 52-acre plot, this facility can house up to 1,500 experts for its worldwide innovative energy projects like liquefied natural gas, subsurface modelling, bitumen and water technology, among others.

Among the many interesting technologies on display is Shell’s IH2 technology which can help generate energy resources from agricultural and municipal waste. Shell India is understood to be testing a BMW car and a Toyota SUV both running on diesel extracted from waste. The vehicles are said to be running smoothly. This, perhaps, is the need of the hour as it could solve two of biggest issues – growing volume of waste and high oil imports.

The other big attraction on display was the Shell Concept car made in association with renowned automobile designer Gordon Murray, who is also an Autocar Professional columnist.

This cute little car is designed by Gordon Murray, who is better known for his contribution to Formula 1 and in being a key player in designing the McLaren F1 supercar. This car uses a three-cylinder, 660cc petrol motor sourced from Mitsubishi and a gearbox from Smart. The engine was enhanced to achieve the very green 38 kilometres per litre, as claimed by Shell. A special engine requires special care, so partner Shell made a tailored engine oil from its Shell Helix Ultra to come up with the thinnest oil (OW 12) ever made by the company. This helped the car deliver an extra 5 percent more fuel economy.

Also read: Shell and Gordon Murray's new city car with class-busting efficiency gains 

We took the concept car on a short spin around the factory premises. Getting inside is rather dramatic as the front of the car opens like a clamshell, and this includes the windscreen. The seat is placed in the middle (like in the McLaren F1), the gearknob is on the right and door release button on the left. I searched in vain for the air-con controls but there was none. Kevin Doyle, who has tested this car extensively, said that since the car was made for the UK which usually sees cold weather an AC was not fitted. Also, with an AC, achieving 38kpl would have been difficult.

I thumb the starter, the car now thrums into life and sounds more like a two-cylinder at idle with a fair share of vibrations from the engine. As we start moving, the car also jerks at slow speeds. Kevin informed us that it's due to the Automated Manual Gearbox sourced from the Smart car, which had developed a problem. After all, the car was tested extensively at the Millbrook Proving grounds in the UK and was definitely not at its prime. But Kevin had some interesting numbers for us – this little car can do 156kph and can go from 0-100kph in 15.8sec.   

FROM THE AUTOCAR PROFESSIONAL ARCHIVES