- GMA has sold all of its allocations for cars planned for production.
- Now, as it’s midway through production of the T.50, Gordon Murray is reflecting on his flagship creation.
There’s no shortage of supercars claiming to be spiritual successors to icons of the past, but the Gordon Murray Automotive (GMA) T.50 doesn’t just make the claim, it backs it up. About halfway through its production run, Gordon Murray sat down with test driver Dario Franchitti to reflect on what makes the T.50 worthy of following in the McLaren F1’s footsteps.
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Read: The Gordon Murray T.50s V12 Engine Sounds Like A Classic F1 Car
“We promised to not have anything on the car that would make you not want to drive it,” Murray explains. He’s talking about more than just handling or design. That promise extends to practical concerns too, including servicing costs, fuel economy, and even storage. While fuel efficiency might not top the list of priorities for most supercar owners, the T.50 manages more than 19.5 miles per gallon. And that’s not a marketing estimate.
Top Gear managed 20.3 mpg over a 621+-mile (1,000 km) mountain-filled trip, including a highway-only segment where the T.50 achieved 25 mpg. Under the right conditions, Murray says it can even get up to 30 mpg. That kind of efficiency gives it a cruising range of over 400 miles on a single tank.
Designed to Be Driven
Practicality doesn’t stop at fuel range. Many supercar owners treat steep driveways and speed bumps like natural enemies, but that’s not the case with the T.50, as Murray points out. Not only does it have everyday car ground clearance, but the team engineered not one but two protective chins for the front lip.
Should an owner somehow damage one, they can replace just one lower protective piece rather than having to remove an entire lip or the whole bumper. Murray points out that running costs do impact supercar owners. To that end, he wanted the T.50 to be a car that owners could maintain for less than an arm or a leg.
Modern Details, Classic Focus
Franchitti also pointed out a key upgrade over the McLaren F1: the headlights. While old-school headlights were great for their time, new lamps are dramatically improved. The T.50 features small gold strakes near the LED that act as heat sinks while offering additional visual flair.
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Murray feels that the T.50 achieved his goal. It’s every bit of the driver’s car that the F1 is, but slightly better. On top of that, he adds that the T.50 fixes what he calls the issues that the McLaren F1 had. It’s hard to make a great sequel, but this sure seems like the perfect one.
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GMA
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