Gordon Murray Automotive T.50 prototypes hit the track

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aria-label="GMA T.50 testing 2021 3"The Gordon Murray Automotive T.50 supercar has been driven on track for a shakedown run at Dunsfold aerodrome in the UK, near the firm’s headquarters, where the 495kW, $4.5 million supercar will be built.

We’ve previously seen the T.50’s XP2 prototype being tested at Dunsfold in the hands of Gordon Murray himself, and for this outing, it was joined by the XP3 development car.

The car’s Cosworth-designed naturally aspirated V12 engine can rev to 12,100rpm – making it the highest-revving road-going V12 in history – but both cars were restricted to 5,000rpm for this test run. Nevertheless, development is well underway and the car is on track for first deliveries in 2022.

After the initial shakedown of the car earlier this year, Murray was encouraged by his first impressions:

aria-label="GMA T.50 testing 2021 2"“The prototype is currently running at considerably less than its 12,100rpm limit,” Murray, said, “but it felt fantastic on my first drive. The car was responsive, agile and rewarding to drive. It was a fantastic experience to be sitting in the centre of the car once again with great all-round visibility and I can see how much the owners will enjoy this.

“Obviously there’s still a lot of development miles to be completed and many more prototypes to build, but the trajectory of the T.50 development is where we want it to be.”

Murray previously told Automotive Daily Covid-induced travel restrictions had forced his team to rethink when the T.50 might be able to commence high speed testing in continental Europe. However, the project is still looking to deliver the first of the limited run of 100 T.50s next year.

aria-label="GMA T.50 testing 2021 8"Gordon Murray Automotive T.50: design and specs

Famed automotive engineer Murray describes the T.50 as a true analogue supercar and the perfect antidote to increasingly heavy modern hypercars.

Last year at reveal, Murray styled the T.50 as a celebration of the 50th year in car design and Formula One engineering. It features ground-effect aerodynamics and a purpose made V12 engine from Cosworth, while all of the major components have been sourced from UK companies.

aria-label="Gordon Murray T50 2020 34"Only 100 will be produced, costing $4.5 million each before taxes, and almost two thirds of the production run has already been sold.

Murray explains that the T.50’s design is an exercise in purity, emphasising the absence of large wings, flaps or vents, found on contemporary supercars and hypercars. As such, the low nose of the vehicle is smooth and unspoilt by a large splitter or canards, and is reminiscent of the McLaren F1.

aria-label="Gordon Murray T50 2020 19"“It looks even better than I hoped,” he told us during a walkaround with the car. “There’s not a single surface on this car that I’m not happy with. It looks really cool, and a massive change from the current crop of supercars. There seems to be a war to see who can make the most outrageous-looking car with swoops and ducts and wings. This one’s pretty pure like the F1.”

Against the tape, the T.50 is 4,352mm long, 1,850mm wide – giving it a footprint that’s a little larger than a Volkswagen Golf’s – and 1,164mm tall. Crucially, weight is kept below one tonne, at 986kg with fluids. The chassis is bonded carbon-aluminium, while the bodywork is carbon fibre.

aria-label="Gordon Murray T50 2020 16"However, the T.50’s most obvious revision over the McLaren F1 is at the rear, where a large fan is found. It’s an engineering feature Prof Murray has used before, most notably on the infamous BT46B Fan Car that raced  – and won – the only event it competed in during the 1978 F1 season. Its success ensured that the technology was subsequently banned from the sport.

The fan provides the T.50 with true ground-effect aerodynamics, without the need for any large wings or splitters. It operates in many configurations, increasing downforce by 100 percent in ‘braking mode’, allowing the T.50 to come to a complete stop 10 metres shorter from 150mph than it could otherwise. A small positive side effect of the fan is that it also provides an extra 15kg of thrust. Murray revealed to Auto Express that a twin-fan arrangement was considered during the McLaren F1’s development, but that time constraints ruled it out.

aria-label="Gordon Murray T50 2020 32"The drivetrain is another nod to analogue supercars of the past. Professor Murray has commissioned Cosworth to develop a high-revving, naturally aspirated 4.0-litre V12 for the T.50 developing 488kW and up to 515kW with ram induction. Maximum power is produced at 11,500rpm, with the redline set at 12,100rpm.

The mid-mounted motor is fully on show in the engine bay, unobscured by covers. “This is such a killer engine Cosworth has done. It’s so far ahead of anything else that’s ever been produced in its weight, layout, maximum revs and power density. In particular, the responsiveness is light-years ahead,” Murray told us.

aria-label="Gordon Murray T50 2020 4"No performance figures have been revealed just yet; according to Murray, they aren’t the point of the T.50. “The reality of chasing top speeds only adds weight, notably through ever-more powerful engines, which increase the requirement for larger, heavier ancillaries. We are taking a very different approach,” he explained.

Drive is sent to the rear wheels, and the T.50 features a bespoke six-speed manual gearbox developed by specialist Xtrac. Several drive modes have been confirmed, including a streamline setting that creates a ‘virtual longtail’, a high-downforce mode to make the most of the fan’s ground effect, and a V-Max setting for top-speed runs, using ram induction to boost power to 515kW. Alternatively GT mode restricts the engine, making the T.50 more user-friendly.

aria-label="Gordon Murray T50 2020 29"The feature most reminiscent of the McLaren F1 is found inside, with a three-seat layout placing the driver centrally and ahead of two passengers. Behind the wheel is a rev counter flanked by two large screens, and Murray promises a driver-oriented environment with simple, tactile controls. Creature comforts include a 10-speaker stereo, smartphone connectivity and a pair of screens instead of wing mirrors.

And, there’s already a harder, track-only version – the T.50S Niki Lauda, which is lighter, features the downforce generating, but imposing wings and flaps Murray wanted to avoid on the road car, and features 540kW.

aria-label="Gordon Murray T50 2020 7"The T.50 will be built at a separate factory in Dunsfold, UK, but once the production run has ended, the Gordon Murray Group will move into a new AUD$94 million campus close by, a move that will also create 100 new jobs.

The new campus will consist of three new buildings. The first phase of construction will create a vehicle manufacturing centre, customer sales department and the Gordon Murray Group heritage collection. Further buildings, due for completion by 2024, will include a research and development hub, plus sales and marketing centres for the GMA products that follow the T.50.

aria-label="Gordon Murray T50 2020 8"A road course for fine tuning products will also be built on site. This will include a rough section of Belgian Pavé – a stretch of stone cobbles used to test a car’s build quality and the endurance of suspension components to their limits.

Gordon Murray Q&A

Gordon Murray introduced his car personally to media ahead of its reveal. Our deputy editor John McIlroy caught up with the legendary designer – and the T.50.

Q: Why are you making this type of car – an indirect successor to probably your most famous creation, the McLaren F1?

A: “Well, if you look back, I honestly don’t think anybody’s done an F1 since the F1 – that much absolute focus on the driving enjoyment and the light weight. And a car with no targets – no top speed, 0-100km/h or lap time at the Nürburgring to think of.

“There are plenty of cars out there that are much more capable than the F1 – the turbos, the hybrids – but none of them gives me the spine-tingling sensation that the F1 gives me. Some people still say that you can’t beat the driving experience of an F1. But I can tell you this is going to move the game on again.”

Q: This is the launch car for Gordon Murray Automotive. What are your brand’s core values?

A: “Our three targets are to be the lightest car, the best driving experience and the best engineering in whichever sector the car is positioned.”

Q: And you’re definitely going to stick to no more than 100 cars per year?

A: “Never more than a hundred. Of anything. We have specifically not gone for capacity beyond that figure.

Q: You’re probably not going to tell us what type of car is coming next, then…

A: “Well, we have an eight-year plan, but I’m keen to get the T.50 out of the door first. We’ll start delivering cars to customers at the beginning of 2022.”

Q: Can you resist the temptation to make an SUV?

A: “Yes.”

Gordon Murray’s road car catalogue

McLaren F1

aria-label="Gordon Murrays cars 4"Money-no-object hypercar rewrote benchmarks in 1993. Just 64 road cars were made; values today exceed $28 million.

LCC Rocket

aria-label="Gordon Murrays cars 3"Track-day flyer had the looks of a fifties racer but awesome pace, with a Yamaha bike engine pushing just 380kg.

Mercedes SLR McLaren

aria-label="Gordon Murrays cars 2"Supercharged V8 super-coupe was an homage to Merc’s 300 SLR. It was produced at McLaren’s factory in Surrey.

Yamaha Sports Ride

aria-label="Gordon Murrays cars 6"Curvy coupe stunned showgoers at the 2015 Tokyo show, but production version never made it beyond planning.

Motiv

aria-label="Gordon Murrays cars 5"Earlier T.25 and T.27 city cars failed to reach buyers, but single-seat quadricycle looks more relevant by the day.

Ox

aria-label="Gordon Murrays cars"Flat-pack vehicle is designed to be shipped to developing regions and then assembled there using local labour.

John Mcllroy

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