Yahoo Autos What’s Next after Murray’s T.50?
The T.50 is going to be the first car from Gordon Murray Automotive, but it won’t be the last. Plans are already advancing to build a succession of other models.
The second of these fills an obvious niche: a track-only version of the T.50. Murray confirms this will have fixed wings in addition to the road car’s 48-volt electric fan and will be able to make up to three times as much downforce as its street-legal sibling. Murray also says it will weigh just 1,962 pounds and have a sequential gearbox in place of the regular T.50’s six-speed manual. Murray is only building 25 cars.
Beyond that GMA is intent on creating a series of other models. “We’re building a company, not just a car,” Murray told Autoweek—with GMA opening a new factory at Dunsfold in Surrey, England (also home of the Top Gear TV show test track), so he’ll have a facility able to produce around 100 cars a year.
None of these future models is likely to be as exotic or expensive as the T.50, but Murray confirmed a less extreme version of the Cosworth V12 could make an appearance further down the line.
“We can do something else with the powertrain, but it won’t be in this form,” he told us. “The cost to get those revs has been enormous—the valves are titanium, the conrods are titanium and I can’t even bring myself to think of the cost of the [carbon silicone-titanium] clutch, but at least this time it’s a fit-for-life; I learned that lesson from the F1.”
The costs behind the T.50’s development mean that, despite its seven-figure price tag, it isn’t going to make much profit for GMA. But it is intended to act as the brand’s manifesto piece. “It’s not going to be a huge money-making exercise,” he said, “but we are going on with the car company after this and this is, in a nutshell, the halo product we are launching the brand with … whatever we build will have to be leading edge, lightweight, beautifully engineered and something that customers can truly enjoy.”
Beyond the McLaren F1 and multiple Formula 1 championships, Murray’s fertile mind has given the world cars as diverse as the LCC Rocket, flat-pack OX truck and (sadly stillborn) Yamaha MOTIV.e city car, among others. We look forward to seeing what he thinks up next.
