Gordon Murray T.50
The McLaren F1 was a seminal moment in automotive history. Designed by Gordon Murray, it was a no holds barred attempt to create the ultimate sports car. And by many accounts, it was a resounding success. It even set the record for the world’s fastest production car, a title it held for more than a decade. Even today, the F1 is still the fastest naturally-aspirated production car. Amazing.
However, its designer always felt that there were a couple of things that were wrong with the car. For example, Murray felt the rear deck wasn’t sensuous enough. He also thinks that the headlights are “rubbish”, the brakes squeak too much, and maintenance was a pain.
Hence, he set out to right those wrongs with the new T.50. But more than that, the T.50 is a refreshing breath of fresh air in the world of hyper-fast sports cars. Because instead of concerning himself with performance figures, Murray has decided to focus on creating a practical – insofar as sports car are concerned – and thoroughly driver-centric car.
Like the F1, the driver of the T.50 sits in the middle. The car is light. Just 986kg with all fluids loaded. It also has a manual transmission, which means you’ll need to exercise your left foot. The steering is unassisted once you get above carpark speeds. There’s traction and stability controls, but they can be turned off completely. Murray also wanted the most responsive engine possible, so he decided to stick with a naturally-aspirated unit at the cost of power.
Still, the T.50 is unlikely to be slow. Even though Murray hasn’t shared performance figures, its 3.9-litre freebreathing V12 will rev to a stratospheric 12,100rpm and will put out 663hp and 450nm in the process. That should be, shall we say, sufficient, in a car that weighs less than a tonne.
ONLY 100 T.50’S WILL BE MADE AND PRICES WILL START AT £2.36 MILLION. SADLY, BY THE TIME YOU READ THIS, IT’S LIKELY TO BE SOLD OUT.
