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Creating a sequel as good as the original is notoriously hard. Automakers usually have a little bit of a leg up in that realm, however, since technology allows for better and better cars all the time. At the same time ... how does one improve on the McLaren F1?
Well, Gordon Murray Automotive has attempted to answer that question quite a few times, and it's aiming to do so again with the track-only T.50S, now officially done with development. And considering it was able to lap Bahrain International Circuit so fast that a GT3 race car couldn't come close to keeping up, it makes a strong claim for itself.
Four-time IndyCar champion and three-time Indy 500 winner Dario Franchitti took the final prototype, XP3, to Bahrain for the car’s production approval test. By the time he was done, the T.50S had lapped the circuit more than seven seconds quicker than the track’s long-standing GT3 benchmark, effectively signing off the car for production.
Gordon Murray Automotive
Let's just put that into perspective a little. GMA is selling this to wealthy folks, but very few who haven't made their millions as a professional racing driver likely have the skill to pilot it at this level. Despite that, they're being handed the keys to what is unequivocally a track weapon.
And according to Franchitti, the numbers (a 1:53.03 lap time) barely tell the story. “The T.50s is the most engaging car I’ve ever driven,” he said after the test. “For pure fun factor, it surpasses all other track-only models, my favorite supercars of all time, and even the race cars I drove to multiple world championship wins.”
Gordon Murray has long insisted that the T.50s wasn’t designed to chase lap records. The philosophy was simpler: build the lightest, most driver-focused track car possible and let the speed follow naturally.
The formula is classic Murray. The T.50s weighs under 1984 pounds and packs a 3.9-liter Cosworth-built V12 producing 772 horsepower while screaming to 12,100 rpm. Power flows through a bespoke Xtrac six-speed paddle-shift gearbox, and the car generates up to 2645 lbs of downforce thanks to its aggressive aerodynamic package. The numbers are so impressive that they sound like fantasy.
Bahrain was chosen deliberately for the final test. The circuit’s mix of heavy braking zones, low grip, and brutal thermal loads makes it ideal for validating a car under extreme conditions. During testing, Franchitti reportedly logged 3g under braking, 2.7g in corners, and speeds exceeding 184 mph.
Gordon Murray Automotive
Those stresses allowed engineers to finalize suspension tuning, aerodynamic settings, and high-speed stability before the car moves fully into customer production. May each of the 25 future owners treat their example to serious track time.
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