The T-27 was a tankette produced in the 1930s by the Soviet Union. It was based on the design of the Carden Loyd tankette, bought under license from the United Kingdom in 1930.
The Soviets were not fully satisfied with the Carden Loyd design and made a number of changes before putting it into mass production under the designation of T-27. Compared with the British original, the hull was larger, the running gear was improved and the weapon mount was modified to take a Soviet-built 7.62 mm DT machine gun. A number of other changes were made by Chief Engineer N. Kozyrev and Lead Engineer K. Sirken to improve the tankette's ability to cope with the Russian climate and terrain. It lacked any communication devices, as communication between vehicles was intended to be carried out using signal flags.
The tankette was accepted into service on February 13, 1931. It was manufactured in two factories simultaneously, the Bolshevik factory in Leningrad and what would later become the GAZ factory in Nizhni Novgorod.
Zytek Group Ltd was an automotive and motorsport company founded by Bill Gibson in 1981 and based in Fradley and Repton, United Kingdom. Zytek Group have two main divisions: Zytek Automotive, which is based at Fradley, Staffordshire; and Zytek Engineering, which is based at Repton, Derbyshire.
In 2014, Zytek Automotive was sold to German engineering company Continental AG, whereas Zytek Engineering was renamed to Gibson Technology.
Zytek Automotive is a specialist powertrain and vehicle engineering enterprise. It designs, develops, and integrates electric motors into a range of cars and commercial vehicles. The current family of electric MOTORS ranges up to 70 kW.
The UK facility can accommodate up to 6,000 E-Drive integrations a year in batches as low as 100.
Zytek has designed electric engines for the initial 100 smart fortwos, which took part in a market trial by selected British customers as lease vehicles from 2007 to 2009.The 70 kW integrated drivetrain installed in the Modec electric vehicle is designed and manufactured in house by Zytek, as well as the drivetrain in the E Vito Taxi.