SA-born designer creates R53mil supercar

The South African born automotive designer Gordon Murray is no stranger to designing cars that challenge the envelope as he is responsible for the iconic McLaren F1. Now for the first time, the British designer and his company Gordon Murray Automotive (GMA) has unveiled the T.50 supercar and confirmed its technical specifications. Not only does it promise to improve on the acclaimed McLaren F1 “in every conceivable way” but also to be the purest, lightest, most driver-centric supercar ever.

Quickly noticeable on the exterior of the GMA T.50 is the lack of vents or scoops especially when compared to vehicle competing within this segment. This is a result of the unwavering focus on creating a vehicle with the most advanced aerodynamics of any road car. One of the most noticeable design characteristics on the new supercar is 400 mm fan incorporated central at the rear of the vehicle.

The fan which is driven by a lightweight 48-volt motor is paired with active underbody aerodynamics and two movable rear spoilers to create downforce in six varying degrees. The pilot can select between auto, high downforce, streamline, braking, test and V-Max Boost for optimized dynamics and performance. Prominently featured in each corner of the vehicle are forged alloy centre-lock wheels with the front pair measuring in at 19-inches while the rear pair takes up 20-inches of space.

Like most supercars, the T.50 was designed and constructed with reduced weight in mind and the result is that the full carbon fibre monocoque and body panels tip the scale at a combined 150 kg. Lightweight materials are also not just reserved for the body panels and monocoque but are a recurring theme in all aspects of the vehicle such as the centrally mounted driver’s seat and two flanking passenger seats only weighing 13 kg all-together.

“Weighing just 986 kg, the T.50 undercuts the average supercar weight by almost a third. A heavy car can never deliver the dynamic attributes of a lighter car – even if it has the same power to weight ratio. While it is possible to disguise a heavy car’s dynamic capabilities with complex active suspension and sophisticated electronics, the agility, responsiveness and reward of a lightweight vehicle simply cannot be matched,” Professor Gordon Murray CBE, Gordon Murray Automotive.

In the engine bay features a bespoke 3.9-litre V12 naturally aspirated motor. The unique motivation comes from Cosworth Engineering and is capable of achieving 12 100 r/min resulting in it being the highest-revving naturally-aspirated road car engine ever. Mated to a six-speed manual transmission and a mechanical limited-slip differential the powertrain which uses the lightest road-going all-alloy V12 unit ever, weighing only 178 kg, produces 488 kW and 467 N.m of torque.

“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, now, the time is 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,” concludes Professor Gordon Murray CBE, Gordon Murray Automotive.

The team behind the GMA T.50 will now focus on creating customer versions and aims to introduce the new vehicle to the market in 2022. At the time of the writing of this article, the GMA T.50 would set you back just under R54million before taxes, shipping and import duties.