[RM Motorsports]

Gordon Murray Automotive reveals details for its new ‘T.50’: the purest, lightest, most driver-focused supercar ever.

- Designed to the same exacting engineering standards as the driver-focused McLaren F1; improves upon its iconic predecessor in every way

- Mid-engine and rear-wheel-drive layout; famed central driving position and

- H-pattern gearbox all key to a matchless experience behind the wheel

- All-new V12 to be the highest-revving engine ever used in a production car; produces unrivalled power-to-weight

- ‘Fan car’ technology delivers the most advanced aerodynamics yet seen on a road car

- Unique carbon fibre tub and a focus on minimising the weight of every component underpin ‘lightweighting’ strategy – overall weight is just 980kg

- New model will set new standards for supercar packaging, providing driver and two passengers with exceptional comfort, safety, practicality and luggage space

- Only 100 exclusive models to be produced costing (before taxes) in excess of £2-million ($2.5-million); deliveries from early 2022.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/cars/new...-t50-supercar/

[ChiragM]

Everyone seems to be talking about a spiritual successor for the McLaren F1 nowadays. First it was McLaren with the Speedtail and now it is Gordon Murray.

Originally Posted by RM Motorsports

- Mid-engine and rear-wheel-drive layout; famed central driving position and

This will be one of the 2 hypercars on sale with a central driving position and can accommodate 3 passengers. Also worth noting that the 3-seaters do not meet US airbag regulations, which consider the side seats also as front seats and would require frontal airbags. I read somewhere that this is the reason why 3 seats were never considered for the McLaren GT. Speedtail owners (and also T.50) in the US would need to bring the cars in under "Show or Display" category"

The "Show or Display" rule is a statutory amendment to the United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) that allows certain privately imported automobiles to be exempted, if the vehicle in question is deemed to meet a standard of "historical or technological significance".

Source

The Telegraph article also says that the car will have a naturally aspirated 4.0-litre V12 engine putting out 652 bhp and will redline at 12,100 rpm. With an expected weight of 980 kg, this car will be fast. Deliveries are not expected for at least 3 years. Isnt 652 bhp a little bit on the lower side for a hypercar, especially after 3 years?

Qudos to Gordon Murray for bringing this car with a naturally aspirated V12 while everyone else is looking at turbos or hybrids. What's more, this car could get a manual transmission as well .

[Rehaan]

Well the recipe certainly sounds delicious!

2.5 year timeline might be a bit optimistic though.

Originally Posted by ChiragM

Everyone seems to be talking about a spiritual successor for the McLaren F1 nowadays.

Good and easy marketing. With one sentence you already have extremely high expectations + nostalgia.

The difference here is that this seems to be Gordon Murray's baby (unless this also turns out to be a marketing twist).

Originally Posted by ChiragM

the US would need to bring the cars in under "Show or Display" category"

Interesting info... for a 1/100 $2.5M car, I'm guessing this should be smooth sailing.

Originally Posted by ChiragM

naturally aspirated 4.0-litre V12 engine putting out 652 bhp and will redline at 12,100 rpm.

12,100 RPM for a V12 is insane!

Originally Posted by ChiragM

Isnt 652 bhp a little bit on the lower side for a hypercar, especially after 3 years?

I don't think it's a low number, but there's 2 reasons it's not higher:

1) It's naturally aspirated. In the cases of most other supercars, the forced induction really helps crank up the peaky horsepower numbers.

2) The few 700+ HP N/A supercars out there all have 6-liter engines. This is just 4-liters.


However, in this case, the 4L has a specific output of 163 BHP/L which is just totally NUTS!!! (Nobody has gone past 135 BHP/L before)


End of the day you can't judge an engine on just the peak power & torque. You'd have to see the full graphs & real world performance. Though I am slightly concerned that with such a high redline, the engine might be a only just good up until a point, after which it gets insane.

The feather-light weight will no doubt be a boost to the overall performance, especially cornering.

[ads11]

Originally Posted by Rehaan

I don't think it's a low number, but there's 2 reasons it's not higher:

1) It's naturally aspirated. In the cases of most other supercars, the forced induction really helps crank up the peaky horsepower numbers.

2) The few 700+ HP N/A supercars out there all have 6-liter engines. This is just 4-liters.

However, in this case, the 4L has a specific output of 163 BHP/L which is just totally NUTS!!! (Nobody has gone past 135 BHP/L before)

So at first glance it was the engine that piqued my interest. Hearing about a new V12 I immediately thought of the Cosworth gem being used by the Aston Martin Valkyrie. That too is a screaming NA unit but I remembered it is bigger.

So,
Q1 - I wonder who's making this 4L V12 for Gordon? Any news if its someone like Ilmor or even Cosworth? I remember Cosworth initially did tests on a single cylinder mock up if memory serves me correctly and once they were satisfied with the numbers they scaled it up to the full monty V12. Actually wait, they can downsize in terms of cylinders but they'd have to seriously change the cylinder size wouldn't they if it was Cosworth taking the existing unit?

Q2. About that specific output. I did some quick google-fu on the Valkyrie motor. See below:

6.5-litre naturally-aspirated V12 engine tailored by Cosworth, which was initially planned to produce around 1,000 hp (746 kW; 1,014 PS)

engine would have a power output of 1,146 PS (843 kW; 1,130 hp) at 10,500 rpm with a redline of 11,000 rpm

So at that final total that works out to 174bhp/l - which would be stupendous.
At the initial target it's a comparatively sedate 154bhp/l.

Still, I'm glad that someone is still flying the flag high for NA engines and more than that high revving V12s. It'll be nice if there are plenty of V10s still knocking about too - even as bespoke rarefied beasts like this in the future

[ChiragM]

Originally Posted by ads11

Q1 - I wonder who's making this 4L V12 for Gordon? Any news if its someone like Ilmor or even Cosworth? I remember Cosworth initially did tests on a single cylinder mock up if memory serves me correctly and once they were satisfied with the numbers they scaled it up to the full monty V12. Actually wait, they can downsize in terms of cylinders but they'd have to seriously change the cylinder size wouldn't they if it was Cosworth taking the existing unit?

All reports suggest that the engine will be developed and built by Cosworth.

From Motor1:

“We are tremendously excited to be part of the T.50 supercar project, and to have the opportunity to work alongside Gordon Murray Automotive,” Cosworth Managing Director, Bruce Wood, comments. “It is a real privilege to play such a key role in the T.50 with an all-new V12 3.9-liter engine, designed, developed, manufactured, and assembled by Cosworth’s industry-leading powertrain division.”

[RM Motorsports]

Gordon Murray revels some facts about the T.50 Supercar.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3dJciP5yP8

[RM Motorsports]

British automotive design outfit Gordon Murray Automotive has revealed the first pictures of its T.50 supercar. This will be the firm's first production supercar and comes with an aerodynamic set-up unlike anything ever seen before on a road-going car. The highlight here is a rear-mounted fan that sits within the car's rear section, between the aerofoils and the high-mounted exhausts.

Murray - the father of a host of Brabham and McLaren race-winning F1 cars and of the iconic McLaren F1 supercar - has entitled his latest endeavor the T.50, a ground-effect design that incorporates a concept last seen on the famous 1978 Brabham BT46 'fan car'.

Created by Murray and the creative minds at Gordon Murray Automotive, and developed with the collaboration of F1's Racing Point's aero department and wind-tunnel.

[RM Motorsports]

T.50 Supercar's powertrain details reveled.

The engine is bespoke, and will be designed and produced by Cosworth to a specific set of benchmarks set by GMA. The 65-degree V12 will be naturally aspirated, displace 3980cc and rev to 12,100rpm (1000rpm more than the 6-litre unit being developed for the Aston Martin Valkyrie, also by Cosworth). The power unit will be rigidly bolted to the rear of the carbon tub and will act as a stressed-member part of the chassis, much in the same way as a Ferrari F50’s engine.

The car’s electrical make-up will utilise a 48V system, forming a type of mild-hybridisation that not only powers the T.50’s rear-mounted fan and active aero, but will also provide a subtle 30bhp boost in certain aero modes, building combined power to 700bhp. This extra boost will come from a small electric motor, which also acts as a starter motor and generator.

The six-speed manual gearbox is another bespoke commission, this time designed and built by XTrac. As in the McLaren F1, the traditional manual gearlever will sprout from a console to one side of the centrally mounted seat.

[ds.raikkonen]

With a target weight of 980kg, in a world where most supercars tip the scales at around 1,500kg, a lightweight powertrain was inevitable. Why a V12, rather than a downsized, boosted I4? As Murray said, “More than half of any truly great driving experience is delivered by the engine, so right from the start I set the highest possible benchmark – to create the world’s greatest naturally aspirated V12.

“To be truly remarkable, an engine needs to have the right character; highly-responsive, an amazing sound, engaging torque delivery, free-revving, and it has to be naturally aspirated. For all those reasons, the engine in the T.50 was never going to be anything other than a V12.”

Full specification of the Cosworth V12 and transmission revealed

Cosworth GMA V12 specification

Type number Cosworth GMA
Configuration V12 semi-structural
V-angle 65°
Capacity 3,994cc
Bore 81.5mm
Stroke 63.8mm
Compression ratio 14:1
Max power 663ps @ 11,500rpm
Power to weight ratio 672ps per metric ton
Weight to power ratio 150kg per 100ps
Max torque 467Nm @ 9,00 rpm
Flexibility 71% of max torque @ 2,500rpm
Maximum rpm 12,100rpm
Valvetrain Gear driven double overhead camshafts
Inclined axis 4 valves per cylinder – variable valve timing on inlet / exhaust
Induction system RAM induction airbox – four throttle bodies – Direct Path Induction Sound
Exhaust system Inconel and Titanium
Lubrication system Dry sump
Cooling system Water-cooled – twin aluminum front radiators
Oil cooling system Single aluminum rear radiator
Ignition system 12 individual coils 12V
Starter/alternator 48V gear driven integrated starter/generator
Exhaust emission control Four catalytic convertors with Lambda sensors and secondary air injection
Engine block Aluminum alloy
Cylinder heads Aluminum alloy
Connection rods Titanium
Valves Titanium
Total engine weight 178kg
Engine mounting Semi-structural-inclined axis shear mounting (IASM)
Power density 166ps/liter

Transmission
Configuration Transverse with high-speed bevel gears and spur gear final drive
Speeds 6 speeds + reverse: full synchro mesh
Gear change Manual H-pattern with reverse lock-out
Differential Limited slip (Salisbury)
Clutch 184mm diameter – Triple plate carbon silicone and titanium
Drive line Tripod joints and gun drilled driveshafts
Casing Aluminum alloy
Lubrication Pumped lubrication
Oil cooling Single aluminum alloy radiator
Ratios
First 2.833:1
Second 2.095:1
Third 1.577:1
Fourth 1.226:1
Fifth 0.971:1
Sixth 0.744:1
Input bevel 1.688:1
Final drive 3.176:1
Optional overdrive (6th) 0.595:1
Weight 80.5kg

https://www.enginetechnologyinternat...m_medium=email

[LOL_FWD]

The spiritual successor for the McLaren F1 is here!

Here's the car in a nutshell - Looks like an unholy child of McLaren F1 and a Porsche 918. NA V12 with a redline of 12100 rpm, 690 HP (515 kW / 700 PS), Rear mounted FAN??!?!, Dihedral "Millionaire" doors, and the whole package weighs less than a MX5 Miata

Global Premiere Video -

YouTube

Images sourced from Here

[ecenandu]

A worth watch.

https://youtu.be/VorejngDjbA

[ads11]

Are any of us surprised he put in a fan at the back? The infamous Brabham (and mind you they had a few) fan F1 car is literally one of old Gordon's iconic designs. So I think it's splendid he went and put it in the car! Honestly if you have an iota of F1 knowhow about you, this car is going to be such a thrill, both for its strong lineage as the true successor to the F1 road car (though I will admit the McLaren P1 to me is also an exceptional car I'd be happy to admit is so) and to his F1 racing heritage.

Wouldn't it be great if for a Grand Tour special all 3 of the guys squeezed in the car at the same time for a review?

[ds.raikkonen]

A multi-million dollar supercar with a proper light weight manual gearbox and a 3.9L N.A. V12 which revs from 0-12,100 rpm in 0.3 sec!

[carthick1000]

Originally Posted by LOL_FWD

and the whole package weighs less than a MX5 Miata

Not really... 1.5L Mazda MX-5 ND when launched was having a dry weight of about 950kg.I had a 2016 model. But now you cannot get that low weight anymore as the newer 2020 versions have bloated to 976kg dry weight. Also the first gen NA models too were about 950kg dry.

In the press release of T.50, you can see the dry weight is 957kg. So still a fantastic value for supercars, but can't agree fully with your claim of lighter than an MX-5

[carthick1000]

Some interesting things to note:

• Mr. Murray himself drives an Alpine A110 which is another automotive enthusiast's delight and relatively affordable. Mid engined RWD layout with a standard Dual cluch transmission, about 1100kg and double wishbone suspension all around. It is rare now a days to find double wishbone suspension in the rear axle in affordable sports cars.
• He used Alpne A110 as a benchmark for designing/tuning his T.50's driving behaviour. He didn't use Porsche's or other sports car as he knows there is no other lighter car with such a good base suspension setup to use. Porsche's are heavy and have taller gear ratios (of course Germans love their autobahns) and the other super cars are fairly heavy and not nimble enough to be benchmarked for a lightweight supercar. Good choice!
• He mentioned in one of the interviews that the McLaren F1 has become too expensive to keep it running as it was valued upwards of 15 million USD at one point. So it is not fun anymore for him to take it out for a ride, as it's value appreciated exponentially.

I hope one day Mr. Murray comes up with a lightweight affordable sports car for everyday driving. Looking forward.