Gordon Murray Automotive’s T.50 is now ready for deliveries, roughly four years after the V-12 supercar was first announced.
The final stage of the development was a sign-off drive by company founder Gordon Murray. GMA has released a video featuring Murray during his sign-off drive, and it’s clear from his emotions that the T.50 will hold its own against other supercars on the market, and possibly also Murray’s last V-12 supercar, the McLaren F1.
Murray calls the T.50 the true successor to the F1. Similarities include a central driving position, a lightweight carbon-fiber tub, a high-revving V-12 (up to 12,100 rpm), and a 6-speed manual transmission. Both cars also sport similar styling.
“This really is the next F1, and that was my intention,” Murray said after the drive. “The T.50 had to deliver all that car did, but better—and that’s what it does.”
Where the T.50 is unique is at the rear, where it has a large fan. The fan is used to change the aerodynamic properties of the car, and its addition enabled Murray to avoid attaching huge wings and spoilers. Murray famously applied a similar but much simpler design on the Brabham BT46B “fan car” that Niki Lauda drove to victory in the 1978 Formula 1 Swedish Grand Prix.
Murray drove a pre-production unit for the sign-off drive, but production of customer cars got underway earlier in March at GMA’s facility in Dunsfold, U.K., close to the Dunsfold Aerodrome, the site of the “Top Gear” test track. Just 100 examples will be built, together with 25 examples of a track-focused T.50s Niki Lauda edition, and all build slots for both cars are gone.
Gordon Murray during sign-off drive for the GMA T.50
GMA has already revealed a follow-up in the form of the T.33 supercar, and all 100 build slots for that car are also gone. Unlike the T.50, which will need to be brought into the U.S. under Show or Display rules, the T.33 has been fully certified for this market. Production of the T.33 is slated to start in 2024.
GMA is planning more supercars, though they will feature electrification. The company has also confirmed plans for an electric SUV.
