Gordon Murray Unveils Most Energy Dense ICE Hypercar

Paul Myles

TU-Editor

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5th August 2020

Veteran racing car designer, Gordon Murray has finally unveiled his T.50 hypercar claiming the world’s lightest and most power dense road V12 ICE ever produced.

The naturally aspirated 3.9-liter Cosworth GMA V12 claims a maximum power output of 660bhp delivered at 11,500rpm on its way to a 12,100rpm redline. That rev range is expected to deliver race-track top-end performance while delivering a much softer delivery at low revs for tractable everyday driving. The maximum torque figure of 344ft-lbs is produced at 9,000rpm, while the pick-up is a claimed record-breaking 28,400 revs per second, enabling it to hit its redline from idle in just 0.3 of a second.

Murray makes the highest power density claim on the motor’s data of 163bhp-per-liter of any road-going V12. It also claims it’s the lightest ever made thanks to a combination of exceptional design and lightweight materials, including aluminum, steel and titanium, resulting in a total engine weight of just 178kg (391lbs).

Fed by a roof-mounted cold-air ram induction inlet, the powerplant delivers 71% of its peak torque from 2,500rpm. The designer focused on the engine aiding in achieving the lowest possible center of gravity. Here, reducing the 125mm (4.9-inch) crank height was the goal, a feat more than achieved by the Cosworth team – the T.50’s crank sits just 85mm (3.3-inch) from the bottom of the engine.

Weight saving extends to all areas of the car including minimizing un-sprung mass. The wheels, hubs, and suspension arms are all ultra-lightweight. The wheels are forged from a lightweight blend of aluminum alloy, the front being 7.8kg (17lbs) and the rear 9.1kg (20lbs), as are the suspension uprights and wishbones. While, for ultimate weight saving, the car’s hubs and bearing carriers mimic those of an Formula One car, with a single locking nut, dramatically reducing the amount of material needed for their construction.

Murray said: “Weighing just 986kg (2,169lbs), the T.50 undercuts the average supercar weight by almost a third. A heavy car can never deliver the dynamic attributes of a lighter car – even if it has the same power to weight ratio. While it is possible to disguise a heavy car’s dynamic capabilities with complex active suspension and sophisticated electronics, the agility, responsiveness and reward of a lightweight vehicle simply cannot be matched.”

No claimed performance figures have yet been released but the car will be limited to an initial run of 100 vehicles due for delivery by January 2022 at a price tag of £2.36M ($3.03M) before taxes.

— Paul Myles is a seasoned automotive journalist based in London. Follow him on Twitter @Paulmyles_