Wheels24.co.za | SA-born Gordon Murray launches the new T.50 supercar - the world\'s lightest supercar

SA-born Gordon Murray launches the new T.50 supercar - the world's lightest supercar

2020-08-04 17:45

T.50. Image: Newspress

• South African born car designer Gordon Murray has unveiled his new supercar on Tuesday (4 August) via livestream.

• The T.50 is powered by the world's highest-revving naturally-aspirated V12 engine. 

• The latest supercar is smaller than a Porsche 911 and offers space for three passengers and luggage.


South African-born car designer Gordon Murray unveiled his latest supercar creation, the T.50, today at 18:00 CAT via a livestream. Murray is best known for designing the McLaren F1, and several Formula 1 racing cars. 

The T.50 will be unveiled on the  gordonmurrayautomotive.com in a customer-focused launch.

You can watch the stream here.

Murray's emphasis on low weight rings true in his latest creation. 

The 73-year-old has always been an advocate of less weight, in fact Professor Murray said: "Today, the enjoyment of driving has been lost as so many supercars only come ‘alive’ at the upper-ends of their performance capabilities."

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It's smaller than a Porsche 911 and will offer space for three passengers and luggage. 

Image: Newspress

The T.50 weighs just 980kg and is powered by the world's highest-revving (12 100r/min) road car engine: a naturally-aspirated four-litre V12 powertrain which produces 484kW.

It's also the lightest road-going V12 yet courtesy of the Cosworth powertrain engineers, who have got the weight of the engine down to less than 180kg, that's more 60kg lighter than the BMW S70/2 V12 in the McLaren F1. 

Murray, based in the United Kingdom, has created a bespoke engine in the T.50 supercar that on paper will be highest revving, highest power density, lightest and fastest-responding naturally-aspirated V12 ever made for a road car. 

That shows that what we are about to see could be the purest supercar in a long time and ultimately a spiritual successor to the F1. 

Ain't that a feat. And he was born in our beautiful country. 

Compiled by Sean Parker