Where do you go from the McLaren F1? Central driving position, a screaming V12 and LeMans winner. Gordon Murray has been working towards this moment ever since and now it is here. The T.50 – a central driving position, a 3.9-litre Cosworth V12 with 663hp that revs out to 12,100 rpm. It is the the world’s lightest, highest-revving, most power dense naturally-aspirated road car engine. You kind of see where this is going right?
The whole car weighs in at 986kg thanks to lightweight carbon fibre chassis and body, and will be sold to just 100 individuals at a cost of £2.36 million before taxes. It has a 400mm fan at the rear to aid the aerodynamics and remove the need for large wings, helping to increase downforce by 50%; reduce drag by 12.5%; add around 50hp to the car’s output, in combination with ram-air induction; and cut braking distance by 10m from 150mph.
If you think this car would have a state of the art, lightning quick automatic gearbox, you’d be very much mistaken. The T.50 has a lightweight six-speed manual transmission and the driver sits dead centre – much like the McLaren F1 that came before it.
This truly is an evolution of that iconic design, and one that celebrates 50 years of Professor Gordon Murray’s work in the industry. Deliveries will start in 2022, and each owner will be fitted to seat, steering wheel and pedals – ensuring the T.50 is ergonomically perfect and individualised for each discerning customer. But is the T.50 harking back to past feats, rather than looking forward to the future?
SCDW 