Gordon Murray, designer of the Brabham and McLaren F1 racing cars and the McLaren F1 road car, has revealed the fourth product of his company, Gordon Murray Automotive (GMA). It’s the T.33 Spider, a topless version of the T.33 Coupe which was unveiled in January 2022.
Developed in parallel with the coupe and sharing the same ultralight carbonfibre monocoque construction, the T.33 Spider has been engineered with greater torsional stiffness as it does not have the roof structure. However, with the stringent and meticulous weight-saving approaches taken, the Spider is just 18 kgs heavier than the 1,090 kg coupe.
Gordon Murray’s much-anticipated supercar has been revealed in full for the first time and as expected, it has ground-breaking technical specifications. Designated T.50, it has been engineered to be the purest, lightest, most driver-centric supercar ever. His design for T.50 is the 50th in a prestigious line of racing and road cars he’s penned over his illustrious 50-year career – hence the number ‘50’.
Professor Gordon Murray was involved in Formula 1 racing car design for 22 years, from 1969 to 1991, with Brabham and then McLaren. He also led the team which developed the McLaren F1 and Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren before starting his own consultancy in 2007.
Even better than the McLaren F1
Improving on his acclaimed McLaren F1 ‘in every conceivable way’, Professor Gordon Murray is leading the team that will begin building customer versions of the 986-kg supercar in January 2022. Justifying its £2.36 million (almost RM13 million) pricetag, the T.50 promises to deliver an unsurpassed driving experience. It is powered by a 100% bespoke 3.9-litre, 663 ps V12 engine that will spin up to a record-breaking 12,100 rpm. Helping it slip through the air will be the most advanced and effective aerodynamics ever seen on a road car – aided by a 400 mm rear-mounted fan.
The global premiere is the first time the clean lines of the exterior and the driver-focused interior have been seen. From his first ballpoint sketches to every engineering and design detail, Murray has led the Gordon Murray Automotive team and briefed and overseen suppliers to drive the project forward at an unrelenting pace.
The most dominant characteristics of the exterior design are purity and balance, free from the wings, skirts and vents that adorn most modern-day supercars. The clean surfaces are enabled by the most advanced and effective aerodynamics ever seen on a road car, resulting in deliberately simple, beautiful lines and a timeless appearance.
The purity of the silhouette is broken dramatically when the pair of dihedral doors rise up and forwards, coming to rest high above the passenger cabin. Inside, the driver-centric approach is plain to see – from the central, jet fighter-like driving position, to the aerospace-grade primary and secondary controls arranged in an ‘ergonomic bubble’ around the driver.
A true British sportscar
Quality of materials, the utmost precision, and simplicity of visuals define the whole car, but nowhere is this more evident than inside the cockpit. British suppliers are responsible for every major component throughout the interior, as well as every facet of the car’s exquisitely-engineered underpinnings – an attribute insisted upon by Murray who was determined the T.50 would be a true British sportscar.
Superlative quality
From the exclusive V12 engine, plus what is said to be the best lightweight transmission, to the world-first aerodynamic package and the feather-light titanium throttle pedal, every element is 100% bespoke and crafted by a British company. Murray pushed each supplier to their limits to deliver ingenuity, the highest quality and of course new levels of lightness.
With a vision that the car, and every element of its componentry, would be considered ‘engineering art’, Murray set out to create a vehicle that surpassed all others, fostering new levels of pride and connection among owners. Every T.50 customer has the opportunity to meet Murray to discuss their car and personalise it inside and out.
Part of this process includes a seat, steering wheel and pedals ‘fitting’ session – personalised to every owner – that will ensure the T.50 is ergonomically perfect and individualised for each discerning customer. Of course, when you are paying that much money, personal attention would only be expected.
The T.50 will have the most advanced and effective aerodynamics ever seen on a road car – aided by a 400 mm rear-mounted fan. The fan concept is something which Murray used in the 1978 Brabham BT46 F1 car to increase downforce, but the FIA decided to ban it after the season ended.
Accomplishing objectives and more
Commenting on the journey so far, Murray said: “For the past 18 months, the T.50 team has lived and breathed the ethos of the car, accomplishing everything we set out to achieve and more. I couldn’t be happier with the car and the team – they’re by far the best I’ve ever worked with.”
“Just 100 customers will share my vision, a car created to improve on the F1 formula in every conceivable way. With 30 years of technological and systems advancement, the time is now right to design the greatest analogue driver’s car. I believe no other company could deliver what we will bring to market in 2022, producing this British supercar will be my proudest moment,” declared Murray.
Until now, Gordon Murray – the famous F1 engineer – has talked about the T.50 supercar which he is developing. He has shown some sketches and outlined the technology but this is the first official picture of the car and the world will see more in May 2020 when it has its global debut.
His company, Gordon Murray Automotive (GMA), is partnering the Racing Point Formula One Team to further develop and test the aerodynamics of the T.50 supercar. According to Professor Murray, the model will have the most advanced and most effective aerodynamics ever seen on a road car.
Unique airflow management system
While the rear view of the car shows ‘purity and drama’, as GMA describes it, the most significant innovation which is now being revealed is a unique airflow management system. The most notable feature of the system, which can be seen at the rear-end, is a 400-mm diameter ground-effect fan.
Coupled with active underbody aerodynamics and dynamic rear aerofoils, the revolutionary aero system enables the T.50 to achieve considerably more aerodynamic performance and control than a conventional ground-effect supercar contributing to an unrivalled driving experience.
Reviving the ‘fan car’ concept that was banned
“I’ve dreamt of delivering a road car with a ground-effect fan since I designed the Brabham BT46B F1 racing car in 1978. The system on the T.50 is much more sophisticated than the Brabham’s and will benefit enormously from Racing Point’s expertise and resources,” Professor Murray said.
The Brabham BT46B Alfa Romeo (above) had a fan installed at the back which sucked air out from under the car, creating enormous downforce that enabled higher cornering speeds. However, it was quickly banned by the FIA because the rules stated that aerodynamic devices must be fixed and a spinning fan was not.
In the T.50, the fan and its associated ducting system build on conventional ground effect systems by actively helping control both the underbody and overbody airflow ensuring that both airflow systems interact to ensure absolute control of the enhanced aerodynamics and improve the car’s performance.
Six aero modes with power boost
Six aero modes enable the driver to optimise dynamic and outright performance, with Vmax Mode boosting output to 700 bhp. Vmax Mode – the most extreme – combines motorsport slipstream technology, extra power from a 48-volt integrated starter-generator, and ram induction to boost power.
Weighing just 980 kgs, the T.50 will deliver ‘the purest, most driver-focused performance and dynamics of any road car’, it is claimed. The car’s bespoke Cosworth V12 engine will be the highest-revving road car engine ever made, capable of an extraordinary 12,100 rpm.
The rear-wheel drive T.50 features Murray’s favoured 3-seat layout (used in the McLaren F1), with the driver benefitting from a central ‘jet-fighter-style’ driving position. Aligned with Gordon Murray’s claim that the T.50 could be the pinnacle of great analogue supercars, the driver-centric analogue controls are positioned to provide the ultimate, highly-intuitive, and totally-immersive driving experience.
Customer allocations of the T.50, priced in excess of £2 million (equivalent to around RM11 million), are now entering their final phase. Planned production is only 100 cars and the supercar has generated demand from a wider than expected global customer base. A significant number are customers in the USA and Japan and the first ones will get their cars in January 2022.
Gordon Murray, the creator of the legendary McLaren F1 supercar, is currently hard at work designing something new that invokes the very traits that made the F1 such a success. Murray himself has announced that he is indeed working on a limited-run flagship vehicle that will utilize an innovative design language.
He also admitted that his new supercar will incorporate the same design and engineering principles that made the McLaren F1 an instant hit about 25 years ago. The car had an engine bay that was lined with gold, a three-seat cockpit layout and was constructed from lightweight materials.
“The new manufacturing business significantly expands the capabilities of our group of companies,” explained Professor Gordon Murray. “With our first new car, we will demonstrate a return to the design and engineering principles that have made the McLaren F1 such an icon.”
According to an article by The Drive, unlike the current crop of supercars, Murray’s creation won’t utilize heavy and complicated machinery and mechanicals, rather a more minimalist approach will be preferred. This is a similar philosophy to that which has served as the bedrock of Lotus Cars for decades.
This new supercar will be launched under Murray’s own car company called Gordon Murray Automotive. Vehicles built under this brand will be based on a new version of the company’s automotive product system called iStream. This platform can be used to manufacture low-volume vehicles for customers with deep pockets.
In depth details regarding performance figures are a bit sketchy at the moment but further details of the car will be released on Friday, 3rd November at ‘One Formula’ exhibition, celebrating 50 years of Gordon Murray car designs.
