Gordon Murray Design To Licence iStream Lightweight Seat

July 24, 2019 by Gordon Murray Design Ltd

•Transcal will licence GMD seat, which weighs 30% less than standard unit

•Automotive OEM and bespoke projects are new seat targets for Transcal

•Weight saving, elegant design and scalability core to Transcal decision

Gordon Murray Design has entered a technology licencing agreement with Transcal Limited to manufacture the iStream® lightweight automotive seat. The new agreement will cover the current seat design, codenamed IS-001. This innovative unit boasts a significant 30% weight saving when compared to a conventional modern seat.

The IS-001 seat licensed by Transcal, a leading automotive supplier of innovative interiors since 1980, will be the world's first implementation of the iStream lightweight seat. Gordon Murray Design is exploring further automotive and non-automotive designs and applications for the seat.

Transcal, with the support of Gordon Murray Design, plans to release the seat for volume production in the first quarter of 2020. Fully-trimmed units will be available for OEM production and also to custom builders for bespoke applications.

Professor Gordon Murray CBE, Chairman of Gordon Murray Design, said: 'We welcome the opportunity to work with Transcal, a business that shares our focus on a more efficient future for the automotive sector and pushing boundaries at every opportunity. The iStream lightweight automotive seat represents a seismic shift in this sector – its innovative construction helps to deliver both economic and environmental benefits.'

The iStream lightweight seat will be on display later this year at:

•Cenex Low Carbon Vehicle event - UK: 4-5 September 2019 (to be confirmed)

•IAA Frankfurt – Germany: 10-15 September 2019

•SEMA – Las Vegas, US: 5-8 November 2019

iStream lightweight seat

The iStream lightweight seat is the product of a research-based project, part-funded through the Innovate UK framework – the Manufacturability of Advanced Passenger Seats (MAPS) – with the objective to develop lightweight automotive seat structures and production methods.

The newly-developed seat can be modified to suit all types of vehicle. Its advanced composite panels and tubular frame construction dramatically reduces structural weight, while maintaining the high-volume, low-cost benefits of Gordon Murray Design's original iStream technology.

Key advantages of the iStream lightweight seat include:

•Lightweight composite structure (sub 12kg)

•30% weight saving vs conventional modern seat

•Suitable for high- and low-volume applications

•Ultra-low tooling and development costs

•Simple, high-speed assembly

•Low part count

•Competitive piece cost

•Satisfies all applicable European automotive requirements (UN ECE), including luggage retention requirements

•Can achieve low seating position

•Anti-submarining design

•Full four-way adjustment