Broad question, so let’s give you a broad answer. It’s the successor to the McLaren F1. It’s a packaging masterpiece to rival a Smart ForTwo. It’s home to the best road car engine of all time. It’s old fashioned yet hugely relevant. It’s the most fuel efficient hypercar we’ve ever tested. It’s perhaps the most perfectly analogue sports car of the last 25 years. It’s the most addictive driving experience available today. Other superlatives will follow, but in basic terms it’s the lightweight three-seat hypercar with the 12,100rpm V12.
IS IT ACTUALLY A HYPERCAR?
Someone’s keen to play devil’s advocate. If you’re a numbers person, then the GMA T.50 probably doesn’t stack up. It’s £2.8 million (£2.36 million plus VAT) yet with only 664bhp has less power than a McLaren Artura. Hypercars also tend to be gloriously OTT rolling artworks, cars that have outgrown driving in their quest for impact. Not the T.50. All that matters here is the driving. It’s small and relatively unadorned. And if push came to shove we’d say this aligns more with driver’s cars such as the Lotus Exige, Porsche 911 GT3, McLaren 600LT or Alpine A110 than it does with a Zenvo, Pagani, Bugatti or Koenigsegg. But mainly it’s a happy blend of both.
SO HOW FAST IS IT? WHAT’S THE 0-60MPH? THE QUARTER MILE TIME?
Still with the numbers, I see. Easy answer: GMA doesn’t know. It hasn’t measured acceleration because it’s not interested. Gordon Murray, the man behind the McLaren F1 and whose brainchild this is, knows it will be fast, but cares about sensation and experience far more than facts and stats.
They do know the top speed: 226mph. But only because they had to do it for ESP calibration. And that’s with the shorter of the two sixth gears. You can have a longer one for better cruising – and potentially a higher top speed provided it will pull it. But GMA doesn’t currently know if it will.
The McLaren F1 set incredible records 30 years ago (0-60mph in 3.2 seconds, 100mph in 6.3s and top speed of 240mph), but a car with a similar technical make-up these days – rear-drive, with a manual gearbox – is never going to be as fast as a Tesla Plaid let alone a Rimac Nevera. Electric power has rewritten the landscape of speed. Still, it’s worth pointing out that all these years later the F1 remains the fastest naturally aspirated road car ever.
WILL THE T.50 BEAT THE F1 AT THAT?
Almost certainly. It may not have as much torque as the F1 (353lb ft at 8,000rpm vs 479lb ft at 5,600rpm), but it has more power (664bhp plays 627), better aero, traction and it’s nigh-on 150kg lighter. More importantly it’s the fastest feeling car we’ve ever driven. More akin to a superbike or supercharged Ariel Atom than a normal supercar. Thank the lack of weight for that. At 997kg, most rivals are at least 50 per cent heavier. What’s exotic about the T.50 isn’t the artistry, but the engineering itself, the materials used, the rigour and focus applied to every element.
The Cosworth-built 4.0-litre V12 is a masterpiece, not only the highest revving road car engine ever, but the fastest revving, able to gain 52,000rpm per second. Consider that for a moment. It’s bananas. The V12 drives the rear wheels through a six speed manual gearbox from F1 specialists Xtrac. So tractable is the engine that fifth gear is known as the ‘speedbumps to 186mph gear’.
WHAT TECHNOLOGY DOES IT FEATURE?
It’s more about what it doesn’t have. No power steering. No twin clutch gearbox. No touchscreens. No adaptive dampers. No nose lift. No cupholders. A Sport mode that adjusts nothing but the throttle. No turbos. No wings. No fuss and no bother.
Gordon says “it’s all about honouring and improving the F1”, but it’s perhaps more interesting to consider that 30 years on, technology has seemingly added very little to enhance the driving experience. It’s helped in other places. The headlights weigh only 2.1kg each and yet throw a block of light miles down the road, and the entire 10-speaker, 700W Arcam sound system weighs just 4.3kg.
The main advanced tech feature are the mirror cameras, necessitated by the central driving position (to get the right view, conventional mirrors would have had to be mounted by the headlights). The screens are clear to view and mounted exactly where you want them, but as with all these systems the flank view is compromised.
HOW ABOUT THE FAN ON THE BACK?
Yeah, that’s the thing everyone talks about. It delivers up to 220kg of downforce at 155mph, 460kg at Vmax. Basically it pulls air from the rear diffuser and blows it out the back, lowering underbody pressure. It runs at up to 7,000rpm, and you hear it when you’re driving.
But there are other modes, switchable by a knob on the left-hand binnacle, including Streamline which closes the floor vents, sends the flaps down 10 degrees and pulls air from the engine bay, giving virtual long tail aerodynamics.
The fan is really there to add stability, not downforce and more grip. The fact this lightweight car isn’t buffeted when it overtakes trucks and sits so calmly at speed speaks of effective aerodynamics.
SO WHAT’S IT LIKE TO DRIVE?
Obviously we’ll go into more detail on this in the Driving tab, but it starts with the seating position. The symmetry of the central seat and the dash layout soothes the brain. Then it’s the operation of the controls: the throttle pedal is not only gorgeous to look at and incredibly light, but the springing of it, the way it works – and this is going to sound silly – in both directions, following the movement of your foot so precisely, makes it the finest pedal we’ve used in any car ever.
And that relentless focus has been applied everywhere. True, it’s tricky to get off the line without the revs soaring, but get it rolling with the clutch alone, then feed some power in after and you’ll be away smoothly.
Low speeds aren’t its favourite: the suspension is stiffly sprung, the steering heavy (although some assistance is clutched in below 10mph), the gearchange sharp. It likes to be driven. And when you do, you discover that Gordon Murray and his team have created arguably the finest driving device ever conceived. It’s not just the tangible driving stuff that stands out here. Other cars celebrate the engine or the chassis. The T.50 celebrates everything. And because it gives you so much, you respond to it not as a machine but something more human. You want to do your best for it, rather than trying to get the best out of it. It sucks you so deep into the experience that you don’t need to be travelling quickly, because you get so much from it at all speeds. That’s unique.
Want to hear us talk about driving the T.50 across the Pyrenees for this review? Click these words.
IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE LIKE THE T.50?
Not really. There’s artistry from Pagani, incredible innovation from Koenigsegg, but GMA’s superpower is driver interaction, something that’s best delivered by making it as light and analogue as possible.
It’s so refreshing to find a car that doesn’t focus on giant numbers, because that chimes with what we’ve been saying for a very long time – bigger numbers aren’t better. They tend to bring more weight and complexity, more electronic control to oversee and help out. That’s what sets the T.50 apart from every other hypercar. They all filter the experience, send signals through processors, reducing your connection while increasing their capability. It’s clever stuff, allows them to travel faster, but airbrushes the experience.
YOU MENTIONED PACKAGING UP TOP? IS IT PRACTICAL?
It has the same footprint on the road as a Porsche 718 Cayman, yet it seats three (admittedly the two outer seats are a struggle if you over six feet) and packs in 228 litres of load space between the two side lockers. There’s also plentiful useful cabin storage under the outer seats and in lockers, and the layout and tactility of the switchgear has to be experienced to be believed.
WHERE DOES THE NAME COME FROM?
Every car Gordon Murray designs gets numbered. The T stands for Type, and this is his 50th design. There’s a lovely plaque inside the luggage cover that lists Murray’s achievements reaching back to the T.1 in 1967. The McLaren F1, incidentally, was T.22.
What's the verdict?
“‘The last great analogue supercar’, that’s the promise Gordon Murray made, and he’s held up his end of the deal in stunning fashion”
You could drive The T.50 every day because it’s viceless, easy to see out of and has generous speedbump clearance (no noselift here, it would’ve added weight). Yet it’s also raw, pure and unfiltered. Driving it is a sensory bombardment: the V12 fills your ears, the steering tingles with feedback, the engine is a constant presence, you find yourself changing gear for the sake of it. It sucks you into its orbit and never lets you go.
This is reductive engineering at its finest. It’s not just the weight loss, it’s the removal of everything that interferes with driving. The result taps more deeply, intuitively and rewardingly into your driving centres than any road car we’ve ever driven. Total immersion.
‘The last great analogue supercar’, that’s the promise Gordon Murray made, and he’s held up his end of the deal in stunning fashion. With the electric era upon us we can’t see anything coming along to usurp it. So let’s call it: it will never get better than this.
Continue reading: Driving
Driving
What is it like to drive?
Let’s start slowly and build up, because there’s so much to digest here. Flick up the titanium cover over the start button and press it. The V12 bursts into life. Only that’s not the engine, it’s the integrated starter generator, a 48V system that does the heavy lifting of spinning the crank before it fires so it needs less fuel, starts more cleanly. After a few seconds of ISG action a bam-uhhh (it makes everyone jump) announces the engine has not only fired, but instantly settled into its idle. It does everything fast, this motor.
I GET THE PICTURE, BUT WHAT ABOUT AT LOW SPEEDS?
It’s firmly sprung, feels pretty solid but the suspension is brilliantly well insulated and supported, so any movements are dealt with instantly and there’s little noise and vibration. You do get engine sound, and it’s pretty plain low down, a high frequency whistle of valvetrain that’s similar to, but nothing like as raucous as, the Aston Valkyrie – the other supercar to use a Cosworth V12. In that you need ear defenders. In this you can chat to passengers, hold phone calls, listen to music. The engine is bushed to the carbon tub here, not solid mounted.
GMA hasn’t tuned the engine or exhaust at all. This is pure noise. The only thing they’ve played with is the thickness of the carbon panel on the engine intake tube. That’s been made thinner so it vibrates slightly, enhancing the induction noise at the lower end. Which means up to 5,000rpm here.
YEAH, BUT WHAT’S IT LIKE AT 12,100RPM?
First thing you need to know is that you don’t get to go there often. Beyond 10,000rpm the propulsion is so vivid, so wild, so nerve-jangling, it’s all you can do to keep your foot down. The noise is pure 90s F1 scream, the Monaco tunnel. So much information is coming at you that you struggle with the processing. Everything – road, traffic, visibility, surface – needs to be aligned when you pin it at the top end.
We dare say other cars are as fast, but none feels as fast: the noise, the savagery, the response, the way the needle flicks around the dial, the intensity of the T.50 sets it apart. Electric will never do what this does. You’ll only find the opportunity to unleash it a couple of times each day. Good. It makes it more special when the stars do align.
BUT SURELY THE ENGINE’S ALL ABOUT USING HIGH REVS?
You’d imagine so given that torque is low (353lb ft) and doesn’t peak until 8,000rpm, but it’s this engine’s flexibility, manners, tractability and response that are just as noteworthy as what it does at 12k. For most quick road driving you’ll use 6,000-9,000rpm, because that’s where the containable magic happens: energy, crescendo, leaping charisma and this compelling, addictive, lips-peeled-back snarl.
It’s not the most musical or operatic sound, just this raw, blood-curdling howl. Plus occasional flames. And boy is it fast enough, jetting between corners, pinning you into the firm seat and reeling scenery through the widescreen view out. It’s an absolute wonder, this Cosworth V12, the best road car engine we’ve ever used.
CAN THE GEARBOX LIVE UP TO THAT? CAN IT COPE?
At low speeds and when you’re just cruising about, it can be tricky – the revs die so fast that they’re back at idle by the time the gearlever passes through the centre of its open gate. And that’s despite the throw being very short. So you’ll need to adapt your technique, leave a fraction of throttle on to smooth the shifts.
But, wow, the instant sense of connection, back to the gearbox, the lack of slack, the crispness of it. This is not the light fluency of a Civic Type R, this is something more deliberate and mechanical, more demanding of concentration. Special mention to the second-to-third shift. That cross-gate is always tricky, but here the lever seems to lead you through it, so there’s no concern about dropping into second for hairpins.
WHAT’S THE STEERING LIKE WITH NO ASSISTANCE?
A bit of power steering is clutched in at low speed, but above 10mph you’re on your own so there’s weight to deal with. After a day of driving on mountain passes you feel it in your triceps and shoulders (yes, we were lucky enough to find that out after four days and 900 miles across the Pyrenees).
The sweet spot is third and fourth gear sweepers. The steering dances in your hands, super accurate and tingling with gorgeous feedback, just this ultra-clear line of communication to the front wheels. This is the T.50 at its best. We had half expected it to have a semi-GT vibe based on its lightness, that it might scamper along like an Alpine A110. Not so. It’s more stiffly sprung than that, taut in its movements, but the R53 springs and dampers are genius bits of kit (remember they’re completely passive, have no switchable modes), so the T.50 skates over the surface, always composed and confidence-inspiring.
WHAT’S IT LIKE SITTING IN THE CENTRE?
It feels natural immediately. “Why don’t others do this?”, you find yourself thinking. It puts you in the perfect position to see out, and position the car on the road. Forward visibility is wonderful (rarely the case with hypercars), which eases positioning and makes driving less intimidating. And then there’s the T.50s width, just 1,850mm. No other supercar, let alone hypercar, is that narrow. The T.50 is narrower than an Audi Q3 for heaven’s sake. It means you fit on small roads, that the car feels wieldy, that you have options for lines through corners, aren’t wincing when cars come the other way or constantly pinging off cats eyes.
SO IT’S A USEABLE ROAD CAR?
More than that, it’s a delightful one. Clutch aside, it’s easier around a city than any other hypercar because of the view out, the ground clearance and the compact size, and we’d have no qualms about batting out 1,000km in it on a cross-continental blast. Have the T.50 with the longer sixth gear because it gives the car another dimension – the rev drop is huge and you’ll knock out distance more easily. It’s not luxurious and there’s nowhere to easily rest your elbows, but it’s quiet enough, smooth enough and relaxing enough to consume kilometres. Plus it’s very efficient.
YOU MENTIONED FUEL ECONOMY AT THE TOP. WHAT’S THE SCORE?
It’s light, aerodynamically efficient and features a very clean, lean-burning engine (that’s another side of the character) and that means it doesn’t use much fuel. On motorway sections of our trip we were up above 25mpg, and even though most of our driving was in the mountains, overall the T.50 averaged 20.3mpg. GMA has even managed to find space for a generous 80-litre fuel tank, meaning a cruising range of around 400 miles. Put that in your EV and smoke it.
IT SOUNDS VERY MULTI-FACETED…
That’s a good way of putting it. It’s fabulously rewarding to drive in any situation. But it doesn’t reveal its secrets all at once. Driving it is a learning process, a partnership. Sampled in short blasts it’s overwhelming, you need time to digest it. We will say this: the harder you go, the better it gets. It wants to be driven with proper inputs, heel and toeing is best when you’ve got some actual travel into the brake pedal, using those mighty Brembo CCM-R carbon ceramic stoppers, building up speed and confidence.
Everything starts to come to you. On initial impressions or at low speeds it can be occasionally frustrating because it doesn’t suffer foolish inputs, it doesn’t fluff your ego. It demands accuracy. But now the magic is revealed. You feel everything, yet nothing throws the T.50 off balance. We doubt it’s got more outright grip than other hypercars on its skinny 235/35 and 295/30 Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tyres, but frankly we’re not bothered. It’s not what this car is about.
It’s not for everyone, the T.50. Some will want cars that are more ostentatious, that make more of a statement. But at the end of the day, cars, even hypercars, are about driving. And this drives better than any other. It is the pinnacle.
Previous: Overview
Continue reading: Interior
Interior
What is it like on the inside?
First you’ve got to open it up. There’s a button on the wing camera that does that, but it’s more fun to press and hold the unlock button on the chunky-but-lightweight key. That sees both doors and rear engine/luggage covers pop open simultaneously, a lovely bit of theatre.
Getting in is a bit like being a gymnast on a pommel horse – your hands have to support your weight and move you across the cabin, while your feet merely scurry across the flat floor. The pedals and steering wheel can be adjusted with spanners, the carbon seat slides and has interchangeable foam panels that adjust the shape and firmness. We make an audible ‘ahh’ when we drop in for the first time. It’s the perfection of the position, the slender rightness of the almost circular steering wheel, the latticework pedals, the gearlever’s stark simplicity, the clarity of the instruments and layout. There’s no fanfare, just an anticipation of operation.
AND WHAT IS IT LIKE TO OPERATE?
Tactility incarnate. The steering wheel is flanked by rotary controls for the heating, aero, lights and wipers. The aim was to mimic the precision of a Leica camera. It’s ASMR heaven. Inside there are a pair of screens operated by corresponding rotary controls. The left gives you car info (fan speed, tyre temp etc), the right does infotainment. Phone integration is seamless and wireless, an iDrive-style clickwheel behind the gearlever provides better navigation through menus.
There are no flashy graphics or other foolishness (are you listening BMW, Mercedes et al?) The screens are white on black: crisp and legible. Pride of place goes to the big rev counter. It’s lit from the side and looks stunning at night. It’s a fitting reflection of the engine itself, a condensing of all that musicality, response and grace into one needle. There’s a single orange warning light set within it. That’s the oil temperature. So good is the T.50’s cooling that on motorway stints the light sometimes comes back on. Doesn’t matter. It just drops the rev limiter a bit. You’ve still got more than enough to play with.
WHAT ELSE IS THERE TO PLAY WITH?
As far as driver controls go, all you’ve got is Sport mode, accessed by twisting another rotary control on the gearlever spar. It gives zestier throttle response. We didn’t often use it. It’s zesty enough already.
Our favourite is the little red lever that operates the reverse lockout. You’ll play with that when you’re sat in traffic. Too satisfying for words.
The Arcam hi-fi is impressive. Sound quality is great, but you don’t get any real surround sound effect due to the positioning of the speakers ahead of you. It’s a small thing. However, because the driver is sat so centrally in the cockpit, road noise and general hubbub hits you from all around. Surround sound noise, but not tunes, then.
WHAT’S THE RIDE LIKE FOR PASSENGERS?
You can find out much more about that here. We had a ride in the car earlier this year. In a nutshell you don’t want to be too tall, and you definitely don’t want to be wide. The seats are narrow, but the view of the driver and outside is unparalleled. It’s a wonderful car to be a passenger in and conversation is much easier than we expected – the passengers can speak behind the driver’s head.
THE MCLAREN F1 FAMOUSLY HAD PRETTY WEAK AC. IS THIS MUCH BETTER?
It’s OK, but it’s not up to much. On a sunny 27 degree Spanish day we had to run the AC flat out to have much effect. GMA specified the smallest AC unit they could get away with. Because weight, obviously. The large glass area does have significant solar heat soak – worse for passengers than driver as they only have a single vent on the door to supply cool air. The driver has two mounted discreetly above the dash screens.
If you’re concerned, you can have the roof panels in carbon instead of glass to reduce the solar impact – which also saves a handy 4.5kg. We wouldn’t. Maximum light wins. And we live in the UK.
HOW’S THE SEAT AND DRIVING POSITION?
As we said up top, you can fine tune the seating position and GMA offers switchable seating pads (they just Velcro in and out) that offer different shapes and firmnesses. However, the basic seat shape doesn’t suit everyone.
The slender, vertical headrest is a strong signature when you look through the car, but it curves your back. We found it was fine for the first couple of hours, but aches set in after that.
YOU MENTIONED GOOD STORAGE SPACE?
There’s 30 litres of space split between four main cubbies: one under each passenger seat, another above where their feet would be. The latter are still large enough to contain wallet, phone, sunglasses, cap and other trinkets and hold themselves closed magnetically. Everything is within surprisingly easy reach of the driver.
The side lockers open either on the key or releases inside the door jambs. Fitted luggage is supplied as standard to make the most of the 114 litres on each side. And yes, you do get heat soak through from the engine – we found it’s worse higher up in the compartment than lower down.
There’s no storage under the bonnet, but that’s where the towing eye, screenwash filler, and titanium toolkit live. The tools are miraculously light. You’ll be looking for an excuse to use them.
Just one more thing to add. There are no cupholders…
NO CUPHOLDERS? WHY ON EARTH NOT?
Firstly, where would you put them? There’s not a lot of spare space in here, and secondly we were told by chief engineer Nik Hoyle that, “there are two things Gordon loathes above all: rear anti-roll bars and cupholders”. Still, the car is quick enough to dry your mouth out – perhaps an F1-style on-board drinks system could be considered?
Previous: Driving
Continue reading: Buying
Buying
What should I be paying?
When Gordon Murray started speaking to owners about this car, he sold it as the ‘car that would right the wrongs of the McLaren F1’. He felt that car had drawbacks in everything from its weak headlights and aircon to the width of the central spine. The market doesn’t appear to care about that. McLaren F1s are now believed to have reached £20 million. This allowed Gordon to tell potential T.50 owners that they would be buying a car that righted the wrongs of the F1 and was available at a huge discount.
Yes, it’s £2.36 million plus tax. We suspect GMA has had no trouble whatsoever in shifting the 100 cars it’s going to build. This is a car whose reputation, built around the legend of its creator, precedes it. One nice touch is that Gordon doesn’t believe in options. Almost everything is included in the price, from a car cover to the fitted luggage.
Gordon Murray Automotive T.50 specs
Engine: 3,994cc naturally aspirated Cosworth V12 Power: 664bhp @ 11000rpm Torque: 353lb ft @ 8000rpm Gearbox: 6spd Xtrac manual, RWD, LSD 0-62mph: not known Top speed: 226mph (with shorter 6th gear) Economy: 20.2mpg (our figure) CO2: N/A Weight: 997kg LxWxH: 4,352mm x 1,850mm x 1,164mm Boot space: 228 litres (+30 litres in cabin)
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