Gordon Murray has a wealth of technical, design and engineering experience and that has resulted in multiple grand prix wins for Brabham and McLaren Racing in the eighties. Not to mention the creation of the McLaren F1 that is still one of the finest supercars on the planet. Last year, Gordon Murray Automotive announced plans to build the world’s lightest and the most driver-focused supercar christened the T.50. Since then, we have been tracking the developments and GMA has now released more details of its supercar.
The T.50 will weigh just 980kg, undercutting the typical supercar weight of around 1.5 tonnes by almost a third. “Designing a lightweight sports car does not come from specifying exotic materials alone, it comes from a state of mind, from absolute focus and control, and from a deep understanding of lightweight, optimised design”, says Gordon Murray, revealing his focus on weight-to-power ratio rather than the widely employed power-to-weight ratio.
In GMA’s new supercar, every 99bhp propels only 150kg of car whereas in a typical supercar every 99bhp propels 210kg. To put things in perspective, the Porsche 911 GT3 RS, another brilliant naturally aspirated supercar weighs 1505kg (unladen, EU figure) while its 4-litre flat-six engine produces 513bhp. The T.50 would pack six more cylinders while tipping scales at just under 1000kg, making it over 500kg lighter than the Porsche!
Speaking of its engine, GMA has closely worked with Cosworth and the T.50 is powered by a 4-litre naturally aspirated V12 powerplant that develops 641bhp. And at 12,100rpm, it is the world’s highest revving road car engine! This engine itself weighs only 180kg, making it the lightest road-going V12 ever made and its 60kg lighter than the BMW S70/2 V12 in the McLaren F1 – while generating more power.
That said, GMA has focused on weight savings for every component of the car. The T.50’s carbon fibre monocoque and body panels weigh less than 150kg and on the inside, all three seats are constructed using generous amounts of carbon fibre. The centrally positioned driver’s seat tips scales at just 7kg while the two rear passengers’ seats weigh under 3kg each. Even the pedal box is 300 grams lighter and 28 per cent thinner than what the McLaren F1 had!
GMA’s fanatical approach to minimising weight with bespoke focus on performance encapsulates every purist’s idea of that perfect supercar – naturally aspirated, high-revving, lightweight and engaging to drive. However, it’s too early to be excited for the GMA T.50 will only hit roads sometime in 2022, that too in limited numbers to reiterate on exclusivity. Only 106 Mclaren F1s were ever made! Until then, follow updates on everything exciting from the automotive world on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.