A racing version of the Gordon Murray T.50 supercar is coming

The Gordon Murray Automotive T.50 supercar is almost literally incredible given the weights and sizes of most modern supercars.

But Gordon Murray isn’t done with it yet, announcing the race car version is now on its way.

The GMA T.50s, as it’s known for now, will be lighter, more powerful, and arguably more impressive than the road-going T.50. Only 25 will be built.

Murray says there’s another name for the car coming, which will be “historically significant.”

Details of the epic GMA T.50 supercar

“With an unwavering focus on performance, and free from road-going legislation and maintenance considerations, the T.50s will achieve astonishing performance on track, demonstrating the full extent of the car’s capabilities,” Murray says.

“We’ve thrown everything at pushing this car beyond the levels of anything that’s been done before. It’s a celebration of British engineering and our team’s extensive motorsport experience.”

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Three things that have been properly fiddled with to make the T.50 an even more effective race car are its engine, aero, and weight, all now associated with numbers even more impressive than that of the road car.

Now, the T.50s is able to produce 1500kg of downforce thanks to a new delta wing, new front splitter, underbody aerofoil, and adjustable diffusers.

Who is Gordon Murray?

The T.50s is also significantly lighter than even the road car, coming in at 94kg lighter. Yep, the GMA T.50s weighs 890kg. A stripped out interior is one of the main contributors to this lightweighting.

Other aspects such as magnesium wheels help lower weigh further, these wheels to be wrapped in Michelin Cup Sport 2 following Murray’s belief supercars shouldn’t need bespoke tyres.

Because of its light weight, the T.50s has relatively tame brakes for a car so focussed – 6-pot fronts and 4-pot rears, though with ducted cooling to cope with forces up to 3G during racing.

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The GMA T.50 road car's rear with its distinctive fan

“Designing the racing car’s aerodynamics has been extremely rewarding. My love for motorsport really fuelled the development of this car,” Murray adds.

He goes on to provide us with what might be the greatest press quote of 2020.

“The aerodynamics are so effective that the T.50s would be capable of driving upside down, and could do so at as little as 175mph.”

Aside from the fact Murray seems to think 280km/h is a “little” speed. But with the Cosworth-developed GMA V12 sitting mid-mounted in the T.50s, 280km/h won’t be anything near its top speed. Even the road car could theoretically hit 392km/h.

And here, in the race car, the V12 is even more potent.

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“With no noise or emission legislation to contend with, we could unleash the full potential of the GMA V12 engine and its 12,100rpm,” Murray says.

“More than 50 components have been changed in the engine alone and the power can top 730PS [537kW] when factoring in the new ram-air induction system.”

The GMA T.50s, or whatever it will eventually be called, will cost from £3.1m in the UK before taxes, which directly converts to just over AU$5.66m. As part of this, owners will be granted access to a race driving program run by GMA.

Gordon Murray really wants his cars to be driven, rather than stored away.

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“I’d like to organise a series of racing events as part of our Trackspeed package to ensure the T.50s is driven regularly by owners.

“There will be nothing like the experience of driving this car. And hearing it… well, that will be something else! I’d like each of the 25 cars to be completely unique from set-up to paint finish.”

While the T.50 road car is set to have its run of 100 unites built through 2022. The T.50s racer will be built from Q1 2023.

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