The next chapter in Gordon Murray Automotive’s pursuit of automotive perfection is about to make its public debut, and it’s every bit as uncompromising as you’d expect.
At this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed, Gordon Murray himself will take the wheel of the very first customer-bound T.50s Niki Lauda, piloting chassis number one up the famous hillclimb. While the road-going T.50 has already earned a reputation as a modern masterpiece, the track-only T.50s pushes Murray’s philosophy to its absolute limits.
Finished in white with a striking livery inspired by the South African flag, the first customer car pays homage to Murray’s first Formula 1 victory, achieved at the 1974 South African Grand Prix. A bold stripe running down the bonnet and colorful accents on the aerodynamic fins provide a subtle but meaningful nod to the designer’s roots and racing heritage.
Underneath the lightweight bodywork sits an evolved version of the T.50’s naturally aspirated 3.9-liter Cosworth V-12. For T.50s duty, output climbs to 772 horsepower delivered at a spine-tingling 11,500 rpm. Unlike the manual-equipped road car, the track-focused machine channels its power through a six-speed paddle-shift transmission engineered for maximum performance.
The centerpiece of the T.50s remains its driver-focused layout. As with the standard T.50, the driver sits in the middle of the cockpit, Formula 1-style. Surrounding that central seat is an aerodynamic package that transforms the car’s behavior on a racetrack. Adjustable aero elements work together to generate up to 2,645 pounds (1,200 kilograms) of downforce, giving the T.50s the kind of grip normally associated with modern prototype race cars.
Exclusivity, of course, is part of the appeal. Gordon Murray Automotive will build just 25 examples of the T.50s Niki Lauda, and every single one has already found a buyer. With prices starting at around $3 million, admission to this ultra-exclusive club doesn’t come cheap.
The T.50s won’t be the only attraction on the Gordon Murray stand at Goodwood. The company is bringing an impressive lineup that showcases both its present and future ambitions.
Making its European debut is the S1 LM design model, a machine that hints at Murray’s continued exploration of lightweight, driver-focused performance. Joining it will be the Le Mans GTR XP1 prototype, a development car that previews a limited-production run of just 24 customer vehicles inspired by endurance racing. Rounding out the display is the T.33 Spider validation prototype, known internally as VP12, offering a glimpse at the next phase of the company’s expanding lineup.
According to Executive Chairman Gordon Murray, production of the T.50s is already underway, while development of both the T.33 and T.33 Spider is progressing rapidly. More intriguing still is Murray’s suggestion that the company is working on an increasingly specialized family of vehicles designed to push the boundaries of his long-held engineering philosophy.
If the T.50 rewrote the modern supercar rulebook, the T.50s Niki Lauda looks set to tear out a few more pages. And with Gordon Murray driving the first customer car up the Goodwood hill himself, there’s no better stage for the latest expression of one of the automotive world’s most relentless perfectionists.
Source: Autocar