Gordon Murray Automotive T50/T50s

[Gally]

Surprised not to see a previous thread.

The ultimate in car function design. Every mm of these cars has been meticulously thought about. Probably the most fascinating I've ever been over this type of unattainable car.

British built with small British companies used where possible.

One of my customers had the road car on order, his company is one involved in the build, I'm interested to see the colour choice and then to see it in person! Should be a special car!

 

[leeds_182]

Nice but no Yaris.

 

[S-JM]

That T.50S makes my widge dance like your avatar. Looking forward to see it in action, likely at Goodwood this year?

 

[Gally]

Won't be at goodwood due to testing schedule. It's already lost a lot of time I imagine.

 

[frayz]

Utterly utterly wonderful in every way. This might be the last hurrah of the ICE motor car and what a way to go

 

[Cookie]

Utterly utterly wonderful in every way. This might be the last hurrah of the ICE motor car and what a way to go

We're still 9 years off from them being banned from sale, don't think this is anywhere near the last hurrah!

 

[frayz]

We're still 9 years off from them being banned from sale, don't think this is anywhere near the last hurrah!

Fair point, but I still think it will take all of 9 years for someone to better Murrays design and vision.
Hes been designing this for years and only now is it coming to fruition. Other than Neweys Valkerie, i don't think anyone has a chance.

 

[andy_coops]

Fair point, but I still think it will take all of 9 years for someone to better Murrays design and vision.
Hes been designing this for years and only now is it coming to fruition. Other than Neweys Valkerie, i don't think anyone has a chance.

Absolutely. Most other manufacturers have set their sights on the use of alternatives to ICE.

 

[DoubleTime]

Both amazing machines in their own right. Hopefully see one or both in the flesh and in action sometime soon.

We really need these types of cars back racing endurance at le mans.

 

[Ex-User (60778)]

Does nothing for me not that it matters. Stick a Dyson fan on a tow bar, job done.

 

[loggyboy]

I'm still not convinced Murray is up to all the hype around him, had one wacky idea in the Brabham that never saw more than 1 race, then obvious success with Mclaren in the late 80s and which lead to 'the F1' (which is a his only master piece), but before i saw this project, last I saw he was designing and raving on about some mini town car thing that had nothing going for it and never went beyond a protoype. Then this came along and i'm sort of on the fence, it looks nice but not great (clearly stolen styling from the F1), the tech looks interesting but not spectacular (and is also stolen from the ancient f1 idea, which no one else thought was a good idea enough to move on to away from F1).

 

[frayz]

I'm still not convinced Murray is up to all the hype around him, had one wacky idea in the Brabham that never saw more than 1 race, then obvious success with Mclaren in the late 80s and which lead to 'the F1' (which is a his only master piece), but before i saw this project, last I saw he was designing and raving on about some mini town car thing that had nothing going for it and never went beyond a protoype. Then this came along and i'm sort of on the fence, it looks nice but not great (clearly stolen styling from the F1), the tech looks interesting but not spectacular (and is also stolen from the ancient f1 idea, which no one else thought was a good idea enough to move on to away from F1).

It saw one race because it was so much faster, Bernie withdrew it. His designs in F1 were ahead of the game, as was his designs in the Mac F1.
Look at all the tech on the F1 back in 1990, that even had Venturi fans to adjust the efficiency of the diffuser. Internet login, 627bhp NA engine, first all carbon tub, etc etc.

He’s a designer, it’s not always easy to get funding for these things and Murray himself said he’s never bothered to progress the F1 because the tech wasn’t there to achieve it. The F1 is still the road car yardstick.

Personally I think he’s all he’s cracked up to be and more. A bit like saying Fangio wasn’t much of a driver or Pele wasn’t all that of a footballer.

 

[loggyboy]

Pele wasn’t all that of a footballer.

He wasnt LOL

 

[frayz]

Lol. I can show you clips of Senna spinning ... guess he was s**t too. 😅😅

 

[Mbeau]

The McLaren F1 is my favourite ever car and just amazing imo. For this very reason Gordon Murray will remain my favourite car designer and automotive engineer. I have previously detailed in another thread why I have so much respect for McLaren and Gordon Murray.

I need to find a spare 40 mins to watch that video, but the T50 looks already an amazing piece of engineering. The attention to detail and power to weight is incredible. I would agree it does almost seem like a modern day F1, but that is ok with me! If money was no object, that would be on my order list, but it is likely to only ever be on my wish list!

 

[ChrisR]

Look at all the tech on the F1 back in 1990, that even had Venturi fans to adjust the efficiency of the diffuser. Internet login, 627bhp NA engine, first all carbon tub, etc etc.

That is impressive for the time

 

[frayz]

That is impressive for the time

It was, it wasnt like the internet of today, but McLaren supplied a system whereby it could be plugged in anywhere in the world and Woking could access the vehicle PCM.

 

[ChrisR]

Pretty cool given the era, wonder if any other manufacturers were doing that at the time?

Having a nose about couldn’t see any other manufacturers doing that at the car level, guessing they’ll have had links from regional dealers back to head office etc. But with a car as specialist as this not like you could pop to your local dealer easily I bet

So kind of makes sense to just have the modem in the car to connect back.

 

[frayz]

Pretty cool given the era, wonder if any other manufacturers were doing that at the time?

Having a nose about couldn’t see any other manufacturers doing that at the car level, guessing they’ll have had links from regional dealers back to head office etc. But with a car as specialist as this not like you could pop to your local dealer easily I bet

So kind of makes sense to just have the modem in the car to connect back.

I believe there was a modem supplied with the car that would connect via satellite back to Macca HQ in Woking. They still require an MS DOS based system to service the cars now and its believed they are also still having to use an late 80's Compaq laptop to do so. It was genuine F1 tech at the time,
There were fans in the cars venturi tunnels to aid the ground effect. The whole car was only 1100kg then, with a 6.1ltr V12, 3 seats, fully trimmed, full audio and air conditioning. Kenwood were enlisted to make a totally different design of audio system and speakers without magnets due to Murrays weight constraints.
Ferrari did the same with the F40 with a 2.9ltr turbo V8 and a car that literally came with nothing other than 2 seats, a steering wheel and not enough paint that you couldn't read through it.

The T50 is 986kg with full interior, connectivity, all the luxuries, 3 seats, 660bhp 4ltr V12 that's as compact as a Lotus Elise. Yes other manufacturers are knocking out loads more power but al now are well into almost double the weight. Just look at the packaging and the quality of the T50, even down to the lighting and switchgear. Its these details that make Murrays car a totally different game to everything else ever gone before.

 

[DoubleTime]

Need to see it in the flesh but I'm largely in agreement frayz. I think this thing is going to be epic. The ethos behind the cars is fascinating.

 

[-Simon]

I have to say I think this is an engineering masterclass but when I first saw the silver car I was a little underwhelmed visually. Having now seen it in S guise I think it looks the nuts. F40 and F1 LM are my favourite supercars and I still don’t think this will ever compare to those but it will be extremely special. We should be thanking all that is holy that someone still has driving purity, natural aspiration and light weight as their philosophy in this sector. Mr Murray should be applauded.

 

[MarkCup]

I can't even begin to imagine what driving that car would feel like.

Just about the exact same weight as my stripped 172 Cup, but with a 725bhp NA V12 behind you, f*** off big tyres, f*** off big brakes, and 1500 kgs of downforce pushing all of that into the tarmac. That's mind bending.

 

[riber3]

Isn't that an MR2 with some bolt on bits added??? lol