Gordon Murray wowed the world in 2020 when he announced that his company Gordon Murray Automotive (GMA) would be producing an all-new supercar called the GMA T.50. Since then GMA has been showing us the development process via its social media channels. This last weekend was the very first time the public got to see, and hear, the GMA T.50 in action as it participated in the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

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High-revving NA

Murray is better known for an earlier car he developed called the McLaren F1. Watch a gaggle of F1s in this video taken at a recent 30th anniversary tour of the landmark supercar. The GMA T.50 was created as a modern-day version of the highly lauded McLaren. 

The former Formula One designer prefers the purity of a naturally aspirated engine. With this in mind he approached Cosworth Engineering to build a V12 specifically for his new charge. The 3,9-litre unit revs to an incredible 12 100 r/min, making it the highest-revving naturally-aspirated road car engine ever. 

Watch an electric prototype absolutely smash the Goodwood hillclimb record at this link.

Peak power of 488 kW is achieved at a dizzying 11 500 r/min. Considering the car’s mass of just 986 kg the GMA T.50 has a power-to-mass ratio of 495 kW/ton. Maximum torque is developed at 9 000 r/min and quoted as 467 N.m. Power is sent solely to the rear wheels but not before passing through a six-speed manual transmission and a mechanical limited-slip differential.

Read more about the GMA T.50 by clicking here.

You can see and hear the GMA T.50 in action below. The engine positively howls, sounding more like a rotary than a V12. There is also the distinctive pause of a human-actuated clutch, rather than the seamless shift of a robotised set-up. In the video you can also see the car roll and pitch as Professor Murray designed it first and foremost as a usable and comfortable road car. For those who want something more extreme there is the GMA T.50 Niki Lauda – read more here.