Gordon Murray’s GMA T.50 Supercar Debuts [w/video]

South African-born Gordon Murray is a legend in the automotive world. The Durban lad has worked with some of the world’s greatest Formula One drivers, designed race- and title-winning cars and capped off his time at McLaren by being the driving force behind the Mercedes-Benz SLR and McLaren F1 supercar. Today his legacy continues as the GMA T.50 Supercar debuts. 50 represents the 50^th car (road and race) that Murray has penned during his illustrious career. Each GMA T.50 Supercar will cost £2,36m. In case you’re wondering, that’s just shy of 54 MILLIYON rand (at today’s exchange rate) before import duties and taxes.

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Return of the Mac F1?

We first reported on the T.50 about a year ago when Gordon Murray Automotive made the announcement that it would be producing a supercar. With his strong motorsport background, and the McLaren F1 as a template, Murray has set out to create the purest, lightest, most driver-centric supercar ever.

Murray: “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.”

Order from our online store and take advantage of free delivery in South Africa on orders over R349.

Flyweight

Mass-saving was employed at every possible point in the development process. The starting point for the exercise is a full carbon fibre monocoque. The total mass of the ‘tub’ and body panels is a scant 150 kg. In a similar fashion to the McLaren F1 the new car offers seating for three. A centrally mounted driver’s seat is flanked by two offset passenger chairs. Total mass of all three is a scarcely believable 13 kg. Even the pedals are lightweight aluminium alloy for the brake and clutch with titanium used for the throttle pedal.

Murray: “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.”

Xtrac built a super-strong but extremely light aluminium transmission housing that was cast at 2,4 mm thickness. The transmission weighs just 80,5 kg. The transmission is mated with a bespoke V12 engine. This all-alloy unit weighs just 178 kg, making it the lightest road-going V12 ever. Speaking of the motor…

V12 power

Cosworth Engineering created the V12 specifically for GMA within strict design parameters. The naturally aspirated 3,9-litre unit revs to an incredible 12 100 r/min, making it the highest-revving naturally-aspirated road car engine ever. It is also the Most-responsive naturally-aspirated engine ever with 28 400 revs per second pick-up, which means it goes from idle to max engine speed in a quoted 0,3 seconds. Peak power of 488 kW is achieved at 11 500 r/min. Considering the total car mass of 986 kg the GMA T.50 has 495 kW/ton. Maximum torque is rated as 467 N.m developed at 9 000 r/min with 71% of available from 2 500. It is also the most power dense naturally aspirated production engine ever made boasting 122 kW/litre. Unsurprisingly, drive is sent solely to the rear wheels but not before passing through a six-speed manual transmission and a mechanical limited-slip differential.

Interestingly, there not a single performance claim in any of the press material. No mention of top speed, acceleration, downforce, nada. Instead, it reads: Its engine is designed to deliver optimum performance, not to hit prescribed power, speed or acceleration targets.

Clean design

Murray was keen to keep the car’s lines clean and free of vents or scoops. He achieved this aim by applying the most advanced aerodynamics of any road car. A 400 mm ground-effect fan combines with active underbody aerodynamics and two movable rear spoilers. The fan is driven by a lightweight 48-volt motor, spinning at up to 7 000 r/min. Six aero modes (auto/high downforce/streamline/braking/ test/V-Max Boost) enable driver to optimise dynamics and performance. V-Max Boost Mode and ram induction helps raise power from the V12 to 515 kW (700 PS).

The GMA T.50 supercar rides on forged alloys that measure 19-inches up front and 20 at the rear. These centre-lock rims are shod with Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S. The wheels cover the latest-generation Brembo six-piston air-cooled aluminium alloy calipers on the front and four-piston air-cooled items on the rear. Brembo carbon ceramic brake discs measure 370 mm and 340 mm, respectively.