GMA T.50 VIRTUAL DRIVE
Gordon Murray’s T.50 hypercar isn’t quite finished yet, but that small detail can’t prevent us taking it for a worldfirst virtual road test
It’s the question that’s on every supercar fan’s mind: what will Gordon Murray’s successor to the Mclaren F1 be like to drive? Colin Goodwin thinks he already has the answer
THE LAYOUT AS YOU OPEN THE T.50’S DOOR AND peer inside is very familiar. Same central driving position as the F1; same set-back, flanking second and third seats. Slide yourself in and the differences become apparent. In the Mclaren F1 the longitudinal structural beams that run through the tub from the engine mounting points on the rear bulkhead to the front bulkhead were positioned more inboard than they are on the T.50. On the latter they’re within the rocker panels so that getting in and out of the car is much easier.
Comfortably slotted in to the driver’s seat, you have in front of you a simple steering wheel with a minimalist selection of buttons and switches, in contrast to the modern trend. What switches there are come from a high quality supplier and have a reassuringly positive feel. ‘The switches we used on the F1 looked the part,’ admits Gordon Murray, ‘but looked better quality than they in fact were.’
Also bucking current ideas, the rim of the wheel is slim. Where did the idea of sausage-section steering wheel rims come from? Are they meant to be sporty? Also unusual is the lack of column stalks. Murray didn’t want them on the F1 and now, on his car, for which he’s called all the shots, they have gone. But before we fire up the 4-litre Cosworth V12 engine and discover what 12,000rpm feels and sounds like, some explanation is required.
We are living in a bizarre world, in which we have Zoom dinners with friends, work remotely, conference call online, distance ourselves from colleagues and associates, and to a great extent live our days in a two-dimensional world. Motor racing is now largely e-sports with virtual championships taking place in almost all categories.
So to join in with the spirit of the moment, you are reading the world’s first virtual road test of the Gordon Murray Automotive T.50 using data gathered from a variety of sources. Firstly, there’s my own experience of driving most of the world’s high performance cars over the last 30 years, including the Mclaren F1 itself. Then there’s the already published technical specifications of the T.50. Together, these sources help build a good picture of what the T.50 will be like to drive, but in truth only a low-res image.
The really important data has come from a long chat on the phone with Murray himself. Locked-down at his Surrey home, he is working harder than ever: glued to a computer screen, finalising tooling details and keeping in regular contact with T.50 customers who must be relishing this close contact with their purchase’s creator.
I can envisage the accelerative sensation of 650bhp in a 980kg car but, not having had the pleasure of driving either a Brabham BT46 or a Chaparral 2J, I have no idea what it will feel like to be in a car that is literally sucked to the ground by a fan. Here, talking to Murray has been essential, but we’ll come to the fan shortly.
‘We’ve focused on three key areas where we wanted to improve upon the F1 with the T.50,’ he tells me, ‘and these are driveability, useability and lastly functionality. Or, put simply, we wanted to fix the areas of the F1 that just didn’t work properly.’ Like the headlamps. I don’t remember ever being in an F1 after dark but, according to Murray, the headlamps were crap even by 1990s standards. ‘You couldn’t drive over 100mph at night.’
The problem was the available technology and budget. This time around the wallet has been opened and Wipac has come up with a bespoke LED system for the T.50 that has cost a cool £3million to develop. The peepers on the
Mclaren 720S are the benchmark; lights that, in Murray’s opinion, are the most effective fitted to any car. I’ve done plenty of night miles in 720s and would concur with that.
It’s always been said of the F1 that it tended to be owned by people who actually use their cars and not lock them away in a heated garage. Back when the car was new, I lived near an owner who I used to regularly see out shopping in his F1. It was usually dirty and often fully occupied. Which is why Murray and his team are focusing on areas that make, when done right, cars easy to live with.
‘The air conditioning was hopeless,’ says Murray. ‘We ran the compressor off the engine and at low speeds it wasn’t doing much. We also ran out of space for ventilation in the F1 and in the T.50 we’ve fixed that with vents that are four times bigger than the Mclaren’s and by making the cabin exhaust valve, which lets the air out and which is the really important bit, 500 per cent larger and placing it in the second lowest pressure-point in the car.’
For the F1, only one seating buck was made; for the T.50 there are three. I was never fortunate to go on holiday or even take a long weekend in an F1 so didn’t experience the wrangle that was involved in loading luggage into the car. ‘It was awkward,’ explains Murray. ‘We used helicopter bins that weren’t easy to use.’ The T.50 has 300 per cent more interior stowage space, while luggage loads into compartments from the top.
The T.50 is a fascinating mix of bang-on-the-moment technology and systems from the more recent past. For example, the engine is fitted with an ISG or Integrated Starter Generator. This unit generates the 48V supply that is used to power the electric air-conditioning compressor, the electric/hydraulic power steering pump and the famous fan at the back of the car. Without the ISG, said Cosworth, three alternators would have been required. Also, 48 volts is needed for the fan because otherwise the DC motor would have weighed a tonne. Using the ISG saves 21kg and, as you can guess, as a Colin Chapman acolyte, Murray is obsessed by shedding the grams.
We’ve waited long enough. Time to fire up the 654bhp Cosworth V12. The sound is amazing, but what is truly staggering is how quickly the motor picks up revs. Just like the Paul Rosche-designed V12 in the F1, only more so. The BMW engine in the F1 accelerated at 10,000rpm per second; this Cosworth motor beats that with 28,400rpm per second. I don’t have any numbers for superbike engines but it must be at least the equal of a Honda Fireblade’s motor.
There was a throttle cable in the F1 but naturally it’s fly-by-wire in the T.50. With barely any flywheel and this eagerness to rev, I wonder if the T.50 is going to be as tricky off the line as the Porsche Carrera GT? With Murray’s determination that this car should be useable, the engine’s ability to produce 70 per cent of maximum torque at 2500rpm and the fact that by using a bespoke Xtrac transaxle Murray will have been able to choose the ideal ratio for first gear, that’s not the case.
As well as spending time with Murray on the phone for this exercise, I have also spent many hours perusing his ever-growing car collection. A collection that includes two Elans (in his opinion the best sports car of all time), a Europa and an Elite, plus several Lotus racers including a lovely Type 23. There is also an Alpine A110, which is his daily driver if he’s not using a classic or his also well-loved Smart Roadster.
‘The A110 is the car that we’ve used as a benchmark. It’s
‘WE’VE WAITED LONG ENOUGH. TIME TO FIRE UP THE 654BHP COSWORTH V12. THE SOUND IS AMAZING…’
‘THE T.50 IS LIGHT ON ITS FEET, WITH SUPERBLY ACCURATE STEERING THAT GIVES SUPERLATIVE FEEDBACK’
been in the workshop and the team have literally pulled it to bits. It has a fantastic compromise between ride and handling and that’s what we’re aiming at with the T.50.’
Not only is the new car 150kg lighter than the F1, but the unsprung weight has been reduced, too, by – you guessed it – attention to detail and to shaving every possible gram from every component. The wheels are 800g lighter than those fitted to the F1; the bespoke Brembo brakes use the lightest calipers that the company makes, from which a further 500g of material has been machined away. Add to this Formula 1-spec hubs and bearings that are three times stiffer than conventional items, forged uprights and wishbones, and rising rate springs (which help manage aero loads) with titanium pushrods. Not only does the T.50 weigh less than the F1, its centre of gravity is lower, too.
It’s the perfect recipe: electric steering, low unsprung weight and a focus on the balance between ride and handling. What you get then is an A110 with outrageous performance. But the fan, what about that fan?
One of my first questions to Murray was ‘Will I feel it working?’ It would be a shame if this wonderful piece of theatre went about its work without the driver realising it. ‘The effect of the fan will be felt at about 55-60mph,’ explains Murray, ‘and definitely at 70-80mph. That’s the same speed at which you’ll notice the streamline mode. At around 8090mph the diffuser is made to stall so that the drag drops.’
The fan is going to be the defining feature of the T.50, the part that captures the public’s imagination. It’s also much more of a multi-role device than the one fitted to the Brabham BT46. On Murray’s road-going supercar it also helps cools the engine, its efflux is used to extend the airflow over the back of the car, creating a long tail effect. Oh, and it produces 15kg of thrust.
As far as the driving experience goes, it’s the car’s 980kg kerb weight that sets it apart from other very fast cars. And here’s where my supercar archive falls short. I’ve driven plenty with similar power outputs, but never in a car this light. My nearest benchmarks are racing cars: a Porsche 962 and Mclaren M8F and both of those have somewhat different power units to the T.50.
My benchmark for power steering is still the Lotus Esprit Sport 300 as I’ve yet to drive a car that betters it. Perhaps until now. ‘The F1’s steering was excellent above 20mph,’ says Murray, ‘but was appalling at parking speeds.’ The T.50’s geometry has been designed as if there was no power steering so only a low level of assistance is required.
So the T.50 is light on its feet, with superbly accurate steering that gives superlative feedback through a thin rim. Acceleration with over 600bhp per ton is of course stunning, but unlike any current rival, you have the added pleasure of a manual gearbox. Braking is another area in which the T.50 stands out. The Brembo brakes of course play a part but it’s the car’s low weight that really counts, that and the extra braking effect you get from the aero and the fan.
I’ve learned three things about car projects over the years: the car is usually late, overweight and over-budget. The virus might have slightly set Murray’s plan back, but you need to remember that he and his team went from a blank sheet to the winner’s circle at Le Mans in under five years with the F1. Also many members of that team are building the T.50. I can’t see Murray allowing the T.50 to creep a gram over its target weight. He is in charge, there are no marketing people demanding that extras be added. As for the costs, who knows? That’s really a concern for Murray himself.