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“All the components in this car are an engineering work of art, and the engine is no exception. I wanted the engine to look like a modern interpretation of a 1960 V12. If it wasn’t the heart of the T.50, it would be make a fabulous modern art sculptural installation, “says designer Gordon Murray.
Gordon Murray Automotive
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A technical drawing of the naturally aspirated 65˚ V12.
Gordon Murray Automotive
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A Cosworth engineer works on the development of the T.50’s engine.
Gordon Murray Automotive
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The T.50 is an evolution of the design of the McLaren F1.
Gordon Murray Automotive
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Sketches of Gordon Murray of Brabham BT46B, McLaren F1 and T.50.
Gordon Murray Automotive
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This is our best look at the T.50 until its official presentation on August 4. You will notice that it shares many design details with the McLaren F1.
Gordon Murray Automotive
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I ran into Gordon Murray at Monterey Car Week in 2019 and was probably embarrassed.
Jonathan Gitlin
For car nerds of a certain age, few cars compare to the McLaren F1. In 1994, the car rewrote the rules, even amid a boom in supercars that gave us machines like the Jaguar XJ220 and Bugatti EB110. At around a million dollars (£ 640,000), its price was almost as incredible as its specs: a carbon fiber construction, a handmade V12, an acceleration that was unknown off the race track, and top speed. north of 240 mph (386 km / h).
Almost three decades later, its designer, Gordon Murray, is working hard on a sequel to this legendary vehicle. It will be called T.50, and we will have our first official look when it is revealed next month. But in the meantime, Gordon Murray Automotive and Cosworth have released some details about the T.50’s engine, which they describe as “the largest road V12 ever made.”
When he was at McLaren in the 1990s, Murray turned to his friend Paul Rosche at BMW to build the custom F1 engine. This time, the job went to Cosworth, who was first recognized when he revolutionized Formula 1 in the 1960s with the DFV engine.
“The engine offers more than half of any truly excellent driving experience, which is why I set the highest benchmark possible from the start: to create the world’s largest naturally aspirated V12. To be truly remarkable, an engine it must be of the right character — highly responsive, incredible sound, attractive torque delivery, free acceleration, and has to be naturally aspirated. For all those reasons, the engine in the T.50 was never going to be more than a V12 “, Murray said.
Cosworth is no stranger to challenges like that, and is the same company that Adrian Newey, another legendary F1 designer, chose for his first road car, the Aston Martin Valkyrie. If anything, the T.50’s engine is even more outrageous than the 1,000 hp (746 kW) turbocharged 6.5L V12 that will power the Valkyrie. For starters, it’s a much smaller engine, displacing 3.9L and weighing just 392lbs (178kg) total. There’s no full hybrid system, either, but the T.50 is a smooth 48V hybrid, and its built-in starter generator will contribute approximately 50hp (37kW) to the party when absolute speed is required.
eleven? No, this one goes to 12
Murray is not a fan of the way turbochargers break the throttle response, so this V12 is naturally aspirated. The maximum power is 654hp (488kW) at 11,500 rpm, with another 600 revolutions before the red line. And it gets there almost as fast as an electric motor: From idle, the V12 will hit 12,100 rpm in just 0.3 seconds. High-revving, naturally aspirated engines are great for horsepower, but less impressive when it comes to torque, and the T.50 is not unusual. The maximum torque is only 344 lb-ft (467 Nm) at 9,000 rpm, but Gordon Murray Automotive says that to ensure good driveability the engine will produce 244 lb-ft (331 Nm) at 2,500 rpm.
In addition to working well, Murray has insisted that the engine also looks good, without the covers dominating a modern engine compartment. “Above all, I wanted it to look clean like the BMW S70 / 2 engine. [which powered the McLaren F1], which had no carbon or plastic covers. Just the entry trumpets, the cam caps, the exhaust block and heads, and some strap-driven ancillary accessories that I was able to get out of sight. In designing the T.50 V12, I wanted it to be the antidote to the modern supercar where you can’t see the engine under the carbon covers, “he said.
The mechanical orchestra has also been designed to sound good. In addition to the 12 cylinders and gears that drive the camshafts, the engine draws air from the inlets above the driver’s head, with variable carbon fiber roof thicknesses that amplify sound inside the cab.
I imagine the T.50’s driving experience will be radically different from that of the Valkyrie. Unlike Newey, Murray has avoided paddle shifting and a semi-automatic gearbox, opting instead for driver engagement and a six-speed manual with a conventional H-pattern shifter, built by Xtrac, weighing in at just 117lbs. (80.5 kg). That said, it is also unlikely that you will know; Only 100 T.50 will be built, each starting at $ 2.6 million, making the $ 3 million, 150-unit Valkyrie almost common by comparison.
Listing image for Gordon Murray Automotive
