T.50

Segment
Coupe

The Gordon Murray Automotive T.50 is one of those cars we don't think we're ever going to get tired of hearing and talking about, much like its spiritual forefather, the McLaren F1. To that point, the company recently released a video of test driver Dario Franchitti talking about and driving the car during the recent Goodwood Member's Meeting. It's just a delight to not only see and hear the car whip around a track but also listen to what he has to say.

Franchitti was the man who drove the final T.50 to Murray's house to get the automotive legend's final approval of the vehicle. He's been integral in the T.50 process from the beginning, helping to make the perfect road car. You can really hear it in his voice, too, when he puts it lightly, "This is definitely a cool way to get the juices flowing at the start of the day."

In the video, he's driving unit PS1, which is one of the last of the pre-production T.50s. He starts the first lap gently, as we imagine shunting a pre-production sports car into the barriers would certainly be a faux pas. He says that over the two-year development cycle, the vehicle has seen all sorts of testing conditions, from driving on ice in freezing temperatures to driving in the desert in the scorching heat. This means even though the track was damp that day, the car was able to handle it in stride as long as you don't get carried away with yourself.

As a four-time IndyCar Drivers' Champion, Franchitti knows what it takes to build a winning race car, so it's somewhat surprising when he says it is actually easier to do that than build a road car. "The development process is so much more difficult than making a racing car," he says. "[With a racing car] is it fast; is it reliable? With a road car, there's so many more parts to it… when you push the boundaries like Gordon has with weight and performance."

From the second iteration of the aero-fan to the central seating position and onward to the bonkers lightweight Cosworth V12, the T.50 really is a technological marvel and a completely driver-focused vehicle. It makes sense then why on his second lap he says, "I'm gonna shut up and let you just listen to the voice of this Cosworth GMA V12 for a lap," and we're greeted with a beautiful V12 symphony.

Videos like these make us wish the T.50 would be a little easier to get here in the US, but at least the completely sold-out T.33 will be able to fully grace our shores.