Ah, I will never get tired of using 'suck, squeeze, bang, and blow' - a simplified way to explain how internal-combustion engines work - as a euphemism. But the title certainly isn't misleading, as I think this magnificent piece of machinery represents the absolute peak of what fossil-fuelled powertrains can be. How does mid-mounted naturally-aspirated V12, manual gearbox, rear-wheel drive, and lightweight supercar sound to you?
It's a very appealing combination, and one of those components stick-out the most. In recent times, we thought that the V12 - and other large engines - would soon face its extinction event, though unlike the dinosaurs, this one is something that we're expecting. Even with turbocharging and hybridisation, ever punishing emissions regulations make it impossibly hard to keep them around. Inevitable, is the word.
Yet, it doesn't mean that keen enthusiasts and inventive spirits are going to let it go that easily. In great reluctance, there are still some carmakers making big engines to put equally big grins on our faces. Ferrari is working hard to fit V12s into new regulations, as Aston Martin's Valkyrie sports a race-inspired V12 that revs its way to spine-tingling RPMs. Bentley is content with their W12 engines - two V6s bolted together - while Bugatti happily sells you a W16 with quad-turbos.
Turned Up All The Way To 12.
Credits to: T.50 - Gordon Murray Automotive
These are engines that'll burn more fuel than a Concorde, as it does a hole in your pocket, and a rupture in your ear-drums. As the young lad that I was, no taller than my dad's waistline and seeing a V12 Lamborghini scream it's way past me, trust me when I say, "It's worth it". For the sake of love and tradition, carmakers will put up with this - and so long as you're going to pay big bucks for one - with another carmaker joining the vanguard soon enough.
Though I suppose the right term would be 'rearguard', no? Moving along, this new development comes from Gordon Murray Automotive (GMA), who's namesake is none other than the creator of the legendary McLaren F1, including a host of other icons. He's no doubt the singular greatest mind in the automotive world since Enzo Ferrari, as the good professor's soul represents the ingenious spirit that underpins the British car industry.
His latest creation is currently taking shape from blueprints to bare-metal. Called the T.50, this car marks itself as the true successor of the McLaren F1 from 20 years ago. Back then, the F1 was the peak of driving emotion, like nothing else. It was designed to be mad and push through thresholds, yet functional and comfortably capable. So far as driving pleasure was concerned, it nailed it, and then some.
Credits to: 1994 McLaren F1 LM - RM Sotheby's
It was built on a fairly lightweight frame, with a screaming BMW-sourced naturally-aspirated V12 placed right behind your skull. Pleasuring enthusiasts even more, it was connected to a manual-transmission, was rear-wheel drive, and it had no electronic aids. No traction-control or electronic stability-control meant that the driver has no interference if they're heading straight towards the tree. The car's limits will only go as far as your driving skills.
This made it monstrously challenging, but a rewarding experience if you get it right. Rowan Atkinson isn't just the man behind Mr. Bean and Blackadder, but he's also a racing driver by hobby. He had an F1, which he crashed, twice. Thus, withdrawing the largest insurance claim at the time. Also, did I mentioned how the F1 easily broke past 240mph (386km/h), without turbos? The master now wants to out-do himself, by taking the F1's goodies into the new-age T.50, and turn it up even higher.
There's only been teasers for now, but they're good enough to see that this is no ordinary undertaking. The T.50 aims to sit at the very top of pure driver's cars, and it needs to satisfy a few key criteria first. Namely, these are weight, power, and engagement. Still, its limited-run of just 100 units means that it's enjoyment will be reserved for the lucky few, though at least at $2.6-million it's a bargain compared to the $20-million F1.
Credits to: T.50 - Gordon Murray Automotive
First and foremost, comes weight, and GMA makes this absolutely clear as you scroll through their website. Lightness adds purity and fun, as the T.50 will be the lightest supercar ever made. It's weight of just 980kg makes it the clear-cut dieting champion, compared to porky supercars in a similar power-class sagging along at least 1,300kg. The monocoque carbon-fire chassis and its body panels weigh only 150kg, with precisely 900 fixings made to remove every ounce.
The transmission overall is 10kg lighter than the F1's, making this a record in any car. Its windscreen is 28% thinner than regular glass, as the driver's seat weighs 7kg, and its passenger seats are a scant 3kg each. Yes, that's a plural, as the T.50's fighter jet-like central seating position allows 2 slightly cramped passenger seats on either side of you, like the old F1. Not to mention, even the pedal-box is 300g lighter.
Gordon Murray (CBE) has quite literally gone over the T.50 time and time again with a fine-tooth comb, shaving off even the most incalculable amount of mass. Besides, a few grams here and there will eventually make up a kilogramme. The T.50's giant V12 engine - which normally weighs 200-300kg - is a featherweight at only 180kg, though more precisely, 178kg. This makes it 60kg lighter than the F1's, and 28kg less than the Valkyrie's powerplant.
Going Out With A Bang.
Credits to: T.50 - Gordon Murray Automotive
It's crucial to make this comparison, as the V12s made for both the Valkyrie and the T.50 are from the same company; Cosworth. This neatly lands us on the next tick on the checklist, a mighty engine to compliment this seemingly old-school supercar. Inspired by the raw intensity of past Formula One cars, the T.50's engine is earning accolades as the highest revving, fastest responding, most power-dense, and lightest naturally-aspirated V12 in a road-car.
It's a bespoke design from inside and out, sharing no parts with any other engine. Though I would imagine that some of the learnings are taken from the Valkyrie, currently sitting alongside each other in testing. Cosworth made this possible by creating tiny, yet powerful 3-cylinder engines, and then combining them together. The T.50's displacement of 3.9-litres - technically 4.0-litre (3,994cc) - is equally miniscule compared to say, Ferrari's 6.5-litre V12.
It naturally outputs 654hp, which makes this the most dense engine for specific output, at 168hp/litre, and contributing to an amazing power-to-weight ratio of 663hp/tonne. Torque is rated at 334lb-ft, which is fairly healthy given its paltry weight, and made available at a howling 9,000RPM. In fact, the T.50 peaks out at an astonishingly shrieking 12,100RPM, which could be reached from idle in just 0.3-seconds. That's 3-times quicker than the F1, as it was done through minimising the weight of internally moving parts.
The all-new Cosworth GMA V12 fires up for the first time today and revs to 1,500rpm - looking forward to the full 12,100rpm in the coming weeks. #GMA #T50 #Cosworth #Gordonmurray #supercar via Instagram https://t.co/t4RJqtpCxl pic.twitter.com/pAUP1lY9YI
— Gordon Murray Automotive (@PlanetGMA) July 17, 2020
I suppose it's not technically a naturally-aspirated engine in its entirety, as there's a 48-volt gear-driven starter generator. It acts to replace the old belt-driven system, and it also adds an extra 49hp to the engine at VMax; one of several selectable driving modes. All the componentry is mounted very, very low down in the car for a lower centre-of-gravity. Some of these placements are even done not for speed, but added theatre.
Presentation is made to warm the cockles of your heart, as the engine sits beautifully displayed under the rear-glass panel. It should also sound amazing, with both a roof-scoop to intake air just above your head, and a motorsports-inspired exhaust system made from a mix of Inconel and titanium. Speaking of, Formula One supplier, Xtrac created an equally unique lightweight 6-speed, H-pattern manual gearbox, checking the final box on our list.
They've also made sure that shifter feel will be the best one around. Despite all these bold and tantalising details, there's some other criteria that we haven't considered at all, like a 400mm fan mounted on the rear. It's another highlight of the T.50, using this large fan to help create ground-effect for downforce, essentially a vacuum. Gordon Murray himself featured this first on the Brabham BT46 Formula One car, which was quickly banned.
Credits to: T.50 - Gordon Murray Automotive
This allows all that aerodynamic efficiency, without the need for ghastly wings or spoilers. Though I wonder if pedestrian-safety regulators would be fine with a giant blender on the back? In all however, going through this list reminds me quite vividly the familiarity the T.50 has with the recipe that made the McLaren F1 so iconic. As they say, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". There wasn't much wrong with the original F1, although some extra luggage space would help.
Until it flaunts its final form, I'll continue to silently salivate at all the little details that keep showing up. As we inch closer to a tectonic shift in the role that cars play in society, the T.50 is a heartfelt celebration of the past. I hate to accept it, but the swansong of the V12 is playing; getting louder every passing day. It's a piece of machinery so wonderful, that it's simply too good for our world. If so, then cars like the T.50 is proof that it certainly won't go out without a huge, explosive, ear-shattering bang!
Credits to: T.50 - Gordon Murray Automotive