The Gordon Murray T.50s will be a special track-only variant of the road-going model and, according to the famed car designer, will have enough downforce to drive upside down.
It is not uncommon for the makers of high-downforce cars to claim they could be driven upside thanks to the huge amounts of downforce they produce. As Jason Fenske from Engineering Explained states in this YouTube video, the T.50s really could do it.
Key to the vehicle’s aerodynamics is its Formula 1-inspired rear-mounted fan not dissimilar to the fan once used by the Brabham BT46B which Murray also designed – and was so successful, it was immediately banned by the FIA…
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Fenske notes that the fan used by the T.50s spins at 7,000 rpm to generate downforce and works alongside a number of other aerodynamic parts, including a sharkfin over the engine bay, a pronounced front splitter, and a large rear wing. All up, the car has more than 3,307 lbs (1,500 kg) of downforce.
When discussing the car’s downforce, Fenske compares it to the Dodge Viper ACR and the McLaren Senna GTR. On ordinary tires, the Viper ACR can deliver 1.5G of cornering force or 1.8G with special track tires. By comparison, the Senna GTR pulls about 1.84G with street tires and 2.2G with track tires. How does the T.50s compare? Well, it could theoretically deliver 2.69G on regular tires and 3.2Gs on sticky rubber.
It’s not just the downforce that makes the T.50s special. Like the street car, it has a naturally-aspirated 3.9-liter V12, but thanks to modifications like revised cylinder heads, upgraded camshafts, and a higher compression ratio, can produce more than 720 hp.