The Lotus Eco Elise features a completely solvent-free waterborne finish applied atop composite body panels made from "sustainable hemp technical fabrics." Pictured here in front of a grove of marijuana plants, solar panels have been set into the vehicle's hemp hard top to help power the electrical system, thus conserving energy-drain from the engine.

Slightly more than half of the nation's population reports that they "have recently started to change their behavior to become 'greener,'" with nearly 60 percent of these respondents saying they are now purchasing an annual vehicle tune-up to conserve fuel and address urban air pollution concerns.

"The survey underlined that people have strong opinions on green issues, and there's good evidence of green behavior in the U.K.," notes Andrew Czarnowski, a managing director at TNS, which is a global marketing information firm.

London's Gordon Murray, who previously oversaw the design of cars such as the McLaren F1 and the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren, has recently launched the T-25 City Car and announced the availability of his company's new iStream vehicle manufacturing platform.

"The T-25 will not be just a small 'big car' but will have a radically innovative architecture," says Murray. Half the size of a typical British car, yet still achieving "the highest safety standards," fuel consumption is 50 percent less than the country's fleet-average with a "best in class" reduction of CO₂ emissions; repair costs should a crash occur are kept low through easily replaceable body panels.

Its compact size will allow two of the vehicles to travel in a single English motorway lane, tripling road capacity and reducing congestion. Three T-25s can easily fit into a standard parallel parking space, freeing up much-needed urban parking spots.

In development for more than 15 years, "the iStream assembly process is a complete re-think and redesign of the traditional manufacturing process," Murray notes, "and it could potentially be the biggest revolution in high-volume manufacturing since the Model T."

As the iStream production concept is marketed OEMs worldwide, an auto plant can be designed to be 20 percent of the size of a conventional factory, slicing the initial capital investment by about 80 percent, he contends. "The design process has been built around the mantra of 'Think Light,'" Murray explains. "All materials for each component are carefully selected to be as light as possible while being 'fit for purpose.'" The overall amount of parts will be minimized through multi-functional designs and "careful consideration of tooling requirements."

At the British Motor Show in July, Lotus unveiled its Eco Elise demonstrator sports car with the intent of "capitalizing on great strides forward in green technology," reports company CEO Mike Kimberley.

"This Eco Elise is a great example of the advanced and affordable green technologies Lotus is developing. We are at the cutting edge of environmental technology and are determined to push forward with our green agenda," he says.

"The Lotus brand values of lightweight, fuel-efficient and high performance are more relevant today than they ever have been," Kimberley continues. "We are keen to ensure that Lotus as a company and its products offer an ethical, green option that appeals to our customers."

In keeping with a "performance through light weight" philosophy, the Eco Elise weighs 70.5 pounds less than the standard Elise S, which means that the existing S engine will give Eco Elise owners higher fuel economy figures and enhanced vehicle performance.