Gordon Murray Could Race McLaren F1 Successor T.50 in Le Mans Hypercar Class
Murray reportedly told press that he hopes to enter his V12-powered T.50 at the world’s most prestigious endurance race, likely as soon as 2022.
Legendary automotive engineer Gordon Murray has reportedly confirmed that he is in talks with organizers of the 24 Hours of Le Mans to enter his upcoming T.50 hypercar in the race. The Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire made the announcement recently at an event hosted by Motor Sport Magazine.
Billed as the spiritual successor to the McLaren F1 (another Gordon Murray creation), the T.50 will be a limited-production hypercar designed to have what Murray calls "the purest, most rewarding driving experience of any supercar ever built." Every molecule of the T.50 will be built from the lightest materials available, from carbon fiber to titanium, magnesium, and aluminum. These materials will feature heavily in its 3.9-liter Cosworth V12, which will rev to over 12,000 rpm and generate more than 700 horsepower for use at the rear wheels.
Like the T.50, Murray originally designed the McLaren F1 as the ultimate road car rather than a race car, though this also made it enticing to racers, who pressed the groundbreaking machine into motorsport service at Le Mans (where it won outright despite competition from purpose-built prototype race cars).
Gordon Murray Automotive has stated that it plans to deliver the first customer T.50s in 2022. As such, entering Le Mans in 2021 with the rest of the hypercar newcomers may be infeasible for the low-volume automaker, which has yet to produce its first car. Additionally, the T.50 may have to do without its ground effect-generating underbody fan, which Murray first devised on the historic Brabham BT46B Formula 1 car.
The Drive has reached out to Gordon Murray Automotive to confirm intent to enter the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and we will update when we receive comment.
