The track-focused version of the already unhinged GMA T.50 supercar has been signed-off for production following a scintillating test at the Bahrain International Raceway. During the three-day certification program, one example (out of the 25 that will be built) of the featherweight T.50s Niki Lauda ended up going faster than the circuit’s established GT3 lap record, a feat that has gone unmatched for 20-plus years.
Base Trim Engine
4.0L V12 Gas
Base Trim Transmission
6-speed Manual
Base Trim Drivetrain
Rear-Wheel Drive
Base Trim Horsepower
656 hp
Base Trim Torque
344 lb-ft@9,000 rpm
Fuel Economy
TBC
0-60 MPH
N/A
GMA T.50s Is Seconds Quicker Than Current GT3 Lap Record Holder
Gordon Murray Automotive. GMA. T.50s Niki Lauda. Track car. Bahrain International Raceway. Motion. Front, three-quartersGordon Murray Automotive
Announced in 2021 and named after three-time Formula 1 world champion Niki Lauda, the final T.50s prototype passed its Production Approval Test with flying colors by setting a 1 minute, 53.03 second laptime around the Bahrain track, some seven seconds quicker than the GT3 lap record that has stood since 2001. Dario Franchitti, the four-time IndyCar champion, three-time winner of the Indy 500, and GMA’s factory driver, set the new record during the final day of the test, exceeding 184 mph in the process. Final calibration checks were also completed on the suspension, the brakes, the engine management, and the throttle response, allowing the track-focused T.50s Niki Lauda to be fully signed-off for production.
Related
Gordon Murray T.50 Buyers Are Doing Something Other Hypercar Owners Don’t
Buyers of high-end supercars typically keep them hidden away as investments, but buyers of the GMA T.50 are putting miles on their cars.
All 25 examples, each of which has apparently been sold for north of $4.1 million apiece, are set to be completed by mid-2026. The build will take place at GMA’s UK base of operations in Surrey, with four examples already said to be “all but complete.”
Gordon Murray Automotive. GMA. T.50s Niki Lauda. Track car. Bahrain International Raceway. Motion. FrontGordon Murray Automotive (GMA)
Bahrain’s national race circuit was specifically chosen for the test due to the extreme thermal and mechanical stresses placed on the T.50s, not just by the Middle Eastern climate but via the mix of hard braking zones and high-speed corners that allowed GMA’s engineers to assess the vehicle’s high-speed stability and aerodynamic profile.
Related
The Most Over-Engineered Cars Ever Made
Sometimes engineering is intellectually stunning. Sometimes the results are baffling. We look at both examples.
Insanely Fast, Purpose-Built Track Car Is Also Insanely Light
Gordon Murray Automotive. GMA. T.50s Niki Lauda. Track car. Bahrain International Raceway. Motion. Front, three-quartersGordon Murray Automotive (GMA)
Though both the track-focused T.50s and the road-going T.50 supercar (of which just 50 are being made) look similar, they were in fact developed in parallel around two different carbon fiber monocoques. Indeed, Gordon Murray was keen to avoid the “mistake” – if you can even call it that – he made with his famous McLaren F1 GTR, which was adapted to race around a “standard” F1 road car. By contrast, the monocoque beneath the T.50s is a clean-sheet design.
Gordon Murray Automotive. GMA. T.50s Niki Lauda. Track car. Bahrain International Raceway. Cabin. Interior. Steering wheel.Gordon Murray Automotive (GMA)
Moreover, when designing the T.50 road car, Murray was keen to avoid excess use of aerodynamic addenda, preferring most of the work be done by that 40-centimeter diameter fan mounted at the rear. Solo, the fan delivers more than 2,645 pounds of downforce by evacuating air from beneath the car and sucking it to the ground, a concept Murray first introduced with the BT46B fan car he developed for the Brabham Formula 1 team in 1978. Working with the bespoke and fully adaptive aerodynamic bodywork on the T.50s track car, this has grown to nearly 3,750 pounds of downforce generated.
Related
Cosworth’s V12 Did Something Even Gordon Murray Didn’t Think Was Possible
There have been few times when Professor Gordon Murray had egg on his face, but this was one of them.
Despite this, the thinner bodywork, radical weight saving around the engine and gearbox, and the lack of air conditioning and an audio system mean the T.50s weighs less than 1,985 pounds, an incredible achievement. An Xtrac six-speed paddle shift gearbox has also been mated to the 3.9-litre Cosworth V12, which not only revs higher than the road car – up to an eardrum shrivelling 12,100 rpm – but also produces 772 horsepower, up from 654 hp.
Gordon Murray Automotive. GMA. T.50s Niki Lauda. Track car. Bahrain International Raceway. Detail. Logo. Fan carGordon Murray Automotive (GMA)
In another neat touch, each of the 25 T.50s chassis produced will be named after one of Niki Lauda’s 25 Grand Prix victories (it’s not known, sadly, which chassis conducted the Bahrain test). The three-time Formula 1 World Champion was a former colleague of Gordon Murray, who was chief designer at Brabham during the late 1970s while Lauda was the team’s lead driver following his switch from Ferrari.
Source: Gordon Murray Automotive