Gordon Murray Automotive has unveiled the long-awaited T.50, a vehicle described by its designer as the greatest supercar ever to be built.
Around a third lighter than other supercars, the 986kg car – which uses a specially developed fan to improve its aerodynamic performance – will enter production in January 2022.
The vehicle, described as the successor to Gordon Murray’s 1990s McLaren F1, is the 50th car model of the legendary engineer.
At the center of the vehicle is a tradition of the 3.9-litre Cosworth V12 engine that is said to be the fastest and maximum responsive engine ever set in a car. The engine delivers a maximum force (663 ps) at 11,500 rpm, in the direction of 12,100 rpm, a record for a road car. At 178 kg, it is also the lightest ever manufactured.
With the Xtrac manual gearbox, the engine is also a semi-structural detail of the car and an inclined shaft shear mounting formula (IASA) is attached. Murray says this is helping to provide much of the stiffness and weight relief of a race car.
The engine relies on anti-vibration supports to prevent unwanted noise and vibration from entering the cab, while allowing effective control of braking, acceleration and turning forces. This saves 25 kg of weight on the T.50’s rear chassis, in a classic engine meeting system.
Murray says the vehicle’s lightness gives it unmatched degrees of driving force, agility, responsiveness and concentration, and allows the car to be “alive” at overall road speeds, just when the speed exceeds 10,000 rpm.
The key to this is the use of high quality car fiber in the frame and chassis, which in combination weigh less than 150 kg. The T.50’s lightweight car fiber monocoque, built through the British company Formplex, features new connected car fibers and an aluminum honeycomb core. The external frame panels, which add the front hull, car-carved doors and car rear panels, are also built with carbon fiber for automobiles.
Interview: Prof Gordon Murray
Performance is further improved through a variety of aerodynamic innovations, adding a rear-mounted 400 mm fan that accelerates the passage of air under the car, forcing it to cross the active boundary layer control ducts that are components of the rear diffuser. This is based on a similar generation first introduced through Murray in the 1978 Formula One season.
The fan and its related duct formula traditional floor effect formulas through active management of base airflow and maximum sensitivity of the box. This restricted layer control ensures maximum effective airflow interaction on and under the car, balancing resistance and assisting at all speeds. This increases the aid strength by 50%; Reduces resistance up to 12.5%; Add approximately 50PS to the car outlet, in mix with dynamic air induction; and decreases the braking distance of 10 ma 150 mph.
F1 debt is further strengthened inside the cab, where a central “combat jet” seat offers an unobstructed view outside the cab, providing the type of driving pleasure related to a single-seat race car setup.
“Everything about the interior starts with the driver – the central driving position is the clearest demonstration of this approach. Building on this starting point, every control is arranged within easy reach of the driver,” said Murray, who believes the driver experience will surpass that of any supercar ever built. “With 30 years of technological and systems advancement, now, the time is right to design the greatest analogue driver’s car,” he said. “I believe no other company could deliver what we will bring to market in 2022, producing this British supercar will be my proudest moment.”
The company plans to build a hundred visiting cars, at a cost of 2.36 million pounds, at its production site in Surrey.