The Gordon Murray Special Vehicles S1 LM is a stunning work of art. I don’t care if some consider it an uninspired remake, or that none of the five built may ever see more than 10 minutes on a track, even if it trades on the legacy of a machine that won the 24 Hours of Le Mans. It’s gorgeous and equally at home in an exhibit. In fact, one on display in the famous Petersen Museum has an extra special feature just for that purpose.
From the outside, the S1 LM seen in this reel looks like a complete car, and its ’90s elegance pairs well with classy jazz. This particular chassis is supposedly intended only for show, however, which led GMA to make a clever compromise for display duty. Watch the S1’s posse of handlers roll it off its trailer and into the museum, and you’ll notice a man steering it from behind, turning a wheel that looks like a toy you’d plug into a PlayStation 2, passing through the slats of the supercar’s semi-exposed rear end.
Meet the Stunning 2026 Gordon Murray S1 LM Supercar
That steering wheel looks to move the front wheels, as we can tell from one of the clips, even though it’s attached all the way at the back. It makes sense, though; if you think about a concept car that is not only non-running but also has an inaccessible interior, you’d need a system like this to be able to move it around. It’s unclear if this S1 is merely a shell or has a bit more going on under the skin, but it’s the kind of thing you wouldn’t see on a purpose-built track toy, where an ounce of unnecessary weight is unacceptable.
All that said, I think it’s genius for a display model, or a similarly rare and expensive vehicle that 1) isn’t intended to be especially light and 2) is likely to live out the rest of its days under fluorescent lighting. These days, you could even opt for steer-by-wire instead of a bunch of crazy linkages running all the way to one of the axles. Maybe that’s a bit much, but hey—when you’re spending millions to commission a car just for yourself, I think you’d be well within your rights to make the request.
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