Gordon Murray Automotive, sister-business of visionary vehicle design and engineering company Gordon Murray Design, has announced details of its first vehicle – the T.50 supercar. Conceived as the spiritual successor to the Murray-devised McLaren F1, the T.50 will be the purest, lightest, most driver-focused supercar yet built.
The development of T.50 is at an advanced stage, with full production and customer deliveries set to commence in early 2022. Just 100 owners of the T.50 will experience Murray’s vision – a supercar inspired by his 50 years at the pinnacle of Formula One and automotive industry engineering and design.
Professor Gordon Murray CBE, chairman of Gordon Murray Group, said: “An unflinching dedication to lightweighting, highly-advanced active aerodynamics and world-leading standards of advanced engineering will ensure the T.50 rewrites the supercar rulebook.”
The engineering planning, plus all interior and exterior styling of the new vehicle has been carried out by Gordon Murray Design. It will be manufactured in the UK by Gordon Murray Automotive – a new company first announced in late 2017 at the ‘One Formula’ exhibition.
The event celebrated 50 years of Murray’s career in motorsport and automotive design and engineering, plus it previewed plans to build a limited-run supercar – the T.50. Every race or road car penned by Murray so far has featured a ‘T’ designation; and the T.50 will be the 50th in a highly illustrious line. It will be priced in excess of £2-million (NZD3.86-million) before taxes.
The T.50 breaks from performance-car convention, just as the F1 did in 1992. It will be powered by a compact and light, naturally-aspirated, all-new Cosworth V12 engine. The unit will be capable of an extraordinary 12,100rpm – unparalleled in a V12 road car – and 485kW/450Nm to deliver unmatched power-to-weight.
However, Murray says: “I have absolutely no interest in chasing records for top speed or acceleration. Our focus is instead on delivering the purest, most rewarding driving experience of any supercar ever built – but, rest assured, it will be quick.”
The new car builds on the F1’s highly-advanced aerodynamics, taking Murray’s ground-effect innovations to an all-new level with intelligent management of underbody airflow coupled with a 400mm fan at the rear.
The fan actively controls underbody airflow – a feature Murray famously premiered on the Brabham BT46B Formula One ‘Fan Car’. This approach allows the upper surfaces of the car to retain purity and beauty, eschewing the exaggerated scoops and spoilers familiar in the segment and equipping the T.50 with the most advanced aerodynamics of any road car.
All engineering, design and styling of the T.50 is by Gordon Murray Design and the car will be manufactured by Gordon Murray Automotive at a new, purpose-built facility in Surrey, UK. Furthermore, all major components will be bespoke and UK-sourced, including the powertrain, body and chassis.
The T.50 supercar will weigh just 980kg – around a third lighter than the average supercar – making it, by far, the lightest supercar yet.
With a clear driver-focus, the external proportions are highly compact (smaller than the footprint of a Porsche 911 at just 4,380mm long and 1,850mm wide) to optimise handling, while the interior is nonetheless spacious and comfortable for three, with ample dedicated space for luggage.
With all of the car’s intelligent aerodynamic sophistication housed beneath the car, the upper surfaces are free from unsightly wings, outlets, vents and bulges, safeguarding the purity and beauty of the exterior design. The sense of drama, even when stationary, is amplified by the striking dihedral doors that hark back to the F1 – where they first appeared on a supercar.
The mid-mounted, all-new 3.9-litre unit V12 engine will rev to an unparalleled 12,100rpm and paired with the car’s low weight (980kg), it achieves a power-to-weight of 663hp/ton, exceeding that of any other naturally-aspirated sports car designed for the road.
The V12 Cosworth GMA engine delivers more power from four litres than the F1 produced with 6.1 litres in 1992, an achievement aided by the inclusion of roof-fed ram-air induction, which increases power to around 522kW.
The Gordon Murray Automotive team was focused on producing the purest driving experience so rejected the use of turbos or electrified powertrain assistance, instead applying attention to engine response.
Power is transferred to the rear wheels via a specially-made, lightweight six-speed transmission designed in conjunction with British transmission technology specialists Xtrac.
In the furtherance of maximum driver reward and low weight, Murray has specified the T.50 with a newly-designed and developed ‘H-pattern’ six-speed gearbox – deliberately eschewing the twin-clutch solution favoured by many supercar makers. The brakes, also developed specially for the T.50, shed speed through a combination of lightweight monobloc alloy calipers and new technology carbon-ceramic discs.
The T.50 supercar is the spiritual successor to the ground-breaking F1, and the central driving position provides a perfect ‘jet-fighter-style’ visibility, while analogue instruments and driver-centric controls are positioned to provide an even more intuitive and immersive driving experience than the acclaimed F1.
Armed with the same mid-engined, rear-wheel-drive set-up, the new T.50 supercar has perfect weight distribution and will boast incomparable vehicle dynamics and driver feel. Despite the car’s performance capabilities, it is far from a stripped-back racer. The T.50 is an ‘everyday supercar’ capable of GT-style cruising in spacious comfort with room for driver, two passengers and luggage.
