A legend in the Formula 1 paddock and legendary in the world of road-going cars to boot, Gordon Murray has a new supercar lined up for production. Only 100 examples of the Gordon Murray Automotive T.33 Spider will be manufactured with pride in the UK, with pricing to be published closer to the start of production.
The open-top variant will join its coupe-bodied sibling, which is already sold out despite costing £1.37 million ($1.7 million at current exchange rates before taxes). The beating heart of the Gordon Murray T.33 Spider is a Cosworth-supplied V12. Codenamed GMA.2, said engine is advertised with a displacement of 3.9 liters even though it boasts 3,994 cubic centimeters. Also used in the three-seat T.50, the free-breathing lump cranks out a rather impressive 609 horsepower in this application.
Peak torque is 333 pound-feet (451 Nm), with 75 percent of said rating available from 2,500 revolutions per minute. 90 percent is delivered from 4,500 all the way to 10,500 revolutions per minute, and the GMA.2 engine is much obliged to crescendo at 11,100 revolutions per minute. Similar to the Gordon Murray Automotive T.50 and McLaren F1 before it, a six-speed manual is featured.
Rather than ZF, Tremec, and Getrag, the British automaker’s manual transmission is a lightweight unit designed by motorsport supplier Xtrac. It weighs only 82 kilograms (181 pounds), making it the lightest manual transmission in the supercar segment. Considering that modern supercars cannot be specified with manuals, we’ll take Murray’s claim for granted.
The Prancing Horse of Maranello and Raging Bull of Sant’Agata Bolognese have both discontinued the manual in a bid to extract more straight-line performance from their vehicles. McLaren Automotive didn’t even bother with a three-pedal setup, which is a bit curious given the legendary status of the McLaren F1 developed by McLaren Cars when Murray was calling the shots.
Designed specifically for driving enjoyment, the T.33 Spider features a dry weight of 1,108 kilograms (2,443 pounds) as per the technical specifications sheet attached below. Equipped with a 48-volt integrated starter generator, the open-top supercar also boasts an ultra-light monocoque constructed from carbon fiber, an active rear spoiler, double wishbones all around, a manual handbrake, a Salisbury-type LSD, carbon-ceramic brakes, and Michelin Pilot Sport 4S rubber.
Gordon Murray Automotive says that 208 miles per hour (335 kilometers per hour) are possible out of the box, with downforce topping 150 kilograms (331 pounds) at 150 miles per hour (241 kilometers per hour). Gifted with different surfacing from its coupe-bodied sibling from the A pillars back, the T.33 Spider flaunts a fixed rear roof section which provides rollover protection.
The carbon composite roof panels can be taken off and stowed in the front luggage compartment, which provides up to 115 liters (4 cubic feet). Twin-side lockers with up to 180 liters (6.3 cubic feet) of storage also need to be mentioned. Last but certainly not least, the rear glass can be dropped at the press of a switch to hear that Cosworth-developed V12 better even when raining.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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