“With an unwavering focus on performance, and free from road-going legislation and maintenance considerations, the T50s will achieve astonishing performance on track, demonstrating the full extent of the car’s capabilities,” Murray says.
“We’ve thrown everything at pushing this car beyond the levels of anything that’s been done before – it’s a celebration of British engineering and our team’s extensive motorsport experience.”
It isn’t just the exterior that has received an overhaul either, as the interior has been redeveloped to give the driver as pure a racing experience as possible.
While similar in shape to a racing wheel found on a modern Formula 1 car, there is no overwhelming arrangement of buttons and switches on the wheel. Instead, the driver will find the basic controls needed to adjust the car from the driver’s seat, with traction and launch control functions present along with pit radio and neutral selection buttons.
Wheel-mounted gear-shift paddles will control the all-new six-speed Instantaneous Gearchange System (IGS) pre-selector system from Xtrac. The new bespoke transmission optimises ratios for speed in place of the road car’s manual set-up.
The central driving position remains though there is space for one very brave passenger to experience the speed and cornering capabilities of the T50s from within the cockpit.
Forged magnesium wheels reduce the car’s unsprung mass and an overhaul of the braking system has been implemented to control what will be a hardly insignificant stopping process.
Six and four-piston Brembo carbon ceramic brakes are at the front and rear respectively and are aided by a redesign of the brake ducts that will help the discs withstand up to 3G of braking force.
Murray says customer satisfaction will be an integral part of the T50s experience
Gordon Murray Automotive
At the forefront of the racing car though is the customer experience. Murray says that owners will have the opportunity to tailor their personal T50s to cater to individual preference, whether it be aesthetically or mechanically.
“I’d like each of the 25 cars to be completely unique from set-up to paint finish. There will be nothing like the experience of driving this car,” Murray stated.
“Hearing it… well, that will be something else.”
Seat set-up, pedal arrangements, car set-up and paintwork can all be adapted to each driver’s liking to meet both style and driving requirements.
As well as developing the road and racing cars, Murray and his team have been in contact with Stéphane Ratel of SRO with the aims of creating a GT1 sports club for the owners of the T50s and run as a private racing series. A full offering of pit, garage and supporting equipment will be included as part of the sale for each car.
With the T50 road car selling over two-thirds of its 100-unit production run ahead of the reveal, the £3.1m T50s is expected to go just as quickly, with over half of the 25-car run already claimed by customers.
The global unveiling of the T50s will take place near the end of 2020 with more details expected at a later date. Production of the racing car will begin in the first quarter of 2023.