As we all knew, Gordon Murray was the key person behind the birth of the iconic supercar of McLaren F1. And currently, the world's renowned automotive designer is developing the driver-oriented supercar and all carried out through his owned company, the Gordon Murray Automotive. The car is known as the T.50 and claimed to be the lightest supercar ever.
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| The T.50 Supercar by Gordon Murray Automotive aimed to be "the last and greatest" analog supercar ever built. (Picture from: http://bit.ly/36A8h4x) |
And some time ago, Gordon Murray Automotive offered a new look at its T.50 supercar, which was said to be the spiritual successor of the famous McLaren F1 Murray.
The company also outlined details about one of the vehicle's most interesting features, namely the fan system at the rear. Look like the T.50 design is taken inspiration from the Brabham BT46B Formula 1 car with a giant fan at the rear.
The company also outlined details about one of the vehicle's most interesting features, namely the fan system at the rear. Look like the T.50 design is taken inspiration from the Brabham BT46B Formula 1 car with a giant fan at the rear.
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| Formula 1 design legend Gordon Murray's all-new T.50 supercar will incorporate fan car technology inspired by his controversial 1978 Brabham BT46B. (Picture from: http://bit.ly/2Ph3Cyv) |
This feature offers a massive improvement in terms of aerodynamics. To get the right aerodynamic factor, the automaker has a partnership with the Racing Point Formula One Team to use the rolling-road wind tunnel of their-owned and get assistance from the engineers there.
It is claimed that the 15.75-inch (400 millimeters) sized-fan feature accelerates the airflow as it passes through the rear diffuser. It uses a vertically installed intake duct to prevent the fan from picking up road debris. Then there is also the ventilations which direct the air downward to cool the powertrain oil. For further aerodynamic adjustment, there are two active wings on the back that can bend upward to increase downforce or flatten to reduce drag.
"What we do when the fan fires up, and we want more downforce at lower speeds, is we open the slot and spool the fan up to the maximum, and we remove all the dirty air and the boundary layers, and that means that the air has to follow the surface. It's forced to follow the surface to fill the vacuum left there," Murray said as quoted of Road & Track.
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| The T.50 Supercar by Gordon Murray Automotive also claimed as the most advanced aerodynamics seen on a road car. (Picture from: http://bit.ly/36A8h4x) |
This sophisticated active aero system is operated in various modes. The most hardcore setting is the Vmax Mode which places the duct and fan in a low-drag setting and uses the 48-volt integrated starter-generator to increase engine output to 700 horsepower (522 kilowatts). There is also a high-downforce configuration when the driver wants to stick to the road.
The T.50 supercar packs a Cosworth-built naturally aspirated 4.0-liter V12 that produces 650 hp (485 kW) and 332 pound-feet (450 Newton-meters) of torque. The powerplant can run all the way to 12,100 rpm. The output runs through a six-speed manual to the rear wheels. A carbon-fiber monocoque and body panels keep the weight down to 2,161 pounds (980 kilograms).
The T.50 supercar models being developed by the company include the road-legal and racing-purposed models. And the road-legal supercar model will be limited to 100 units. As for the racing model, only 25 units will be produced. Similar to the McLaren F1, the T.50 will be a three-seater with a central driving position to get the maximum power weight to ratio.
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