Gordon Murray, the “father” of the original McLaren F1, returned to the drawing board and decided to develop a spiritual successor to what was one of his masterpieces. The result is the T.50, and after the first specs revealed last June, today we bring you the first official image of the new three-seat supercar.
And the first image reveals the rear of the new super sports car, where the main highlight is, obviously, the 400 mm fan that adorns it . Activated electrically, this replicates the solution in the banned Brabham BT46B 1 car designed by… Gordon Murray.
In fact, the importance given to aerodynamics in the development of the T.50 was such that Gordon Murray Automotive teamed up with Racing Point Formula 1 to develop the aerodynamics of the super sports car.
What does the fan do?
This fan has, according to Gordon Murray Automotive, four functions: cooling, improving downforce, increasing efficiency and reducing aerodynamic drag.
Used to accelerate the air that passes under the car, the car is then forced to follow ducts towards the rear diffuser. In total, the T.50 will feature six different aerodynamic modes, two automatic and the rest selectable by the driver.
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The automatic modes are “Auto”, which optimizes the use of the fan, rear spoiler and diffusers at the bottom of the car; and “Brake”, which opens the spoilers and sets the fan to its maximum speed, “gluing” the car to the ground, increasing stability and rolling resistance.
There are also “High Downforce” and “Streamline” modes, the first increases downforce by 30%, the second reduces aerodynamic resistance by 10%, closing the air passage through some of the ducts and also increases the fan speed, generating something like a virtual extension of the bodywork. Finally, there are the “Vmax” and “Test” modes.
In “Vmax” mode, the system draws extra power from the 48V mild-hybrid system to provide a power boost for about three minutes. Near its maximum speed the power rises even more to close to 700 hp, thanks to the ram air effect that the superior air intake allows. The “Test” mode will allow the owner to show how the aerodynamic system works while the car is stationary.
a featherweight
Just 30 mm wider and 60 mm longer than the McLaren F1, the T.50 bets on its compact dimensions and low weight, a measly 980 kg. Which leads Gordon Murray to say: "No one else makes supercars the way we do."
Animating a super sports car that wants to be, above all, analogue, is a V12 developed by Cosworth, naturally aspirated with 3.9 l of capacity that should debit about 650 hp (which rise to close to 700 hp with the “Vmax” mode activated).
Aided by a 48 V parallel electrical system, the V12 is capable of ramping up to 12,100 rpm with the limiter set at 12,400 rpm . As for the gearbox, this is manual and has six speeds.
Only 125 copies
In total, 125 units of the T.50 will be produced. Initially 100 had been announced, which remains, and will be road versions, with the additional 25 units now announced to be destined only for the circuits — Gordon Murray has already revealed that he intends to align the T.50 in the 24 Hours of Le Mans .
As far as the price is concerned, it should be set at 2.3 million pounds (about 2.7 million euros). With the start of production scheduled for 2021, the first units of the T.50 should only be delivered in early 2022.