Gordon Murray's T.50 Holds The Secret To Future Vehicles

Sep. 24, 2020 2:45 PM ET byJay Traugott Supercars /9 Comments

When Gordon Murray talks, everyone should listen.

Gordon Murray, the legendary automotive designer whose most famous previous creation was theMcLaren F1, has now given the world theT.50 hypercar. To Murray (and many others), the T.50 is the rightful successor to the F1, not theMcLaren Speedtail. Just because a hypercar has a central driving position doesn't automatically give it F1 successor rights. There are other vital elements, among them performance and weight.

While the Speedtail certainly delivers on the performance front, it's the T.50's feather-light 1,962 pounds that has eyebrows raised. One thing is for certain: Murray is serious about slashing weight and he wants other automakers to take note.

Speaking to Top Gear, Murray was asked what he believes will be the next big technology breakthrough for vehicles, and his answer makes a lot of sense.

"I know it's a cracked record, but I still think it is weight," he said. "A few years back, people panicked and started looking - Mazda in particular - at some serious weight saving, and recently it looks like Alpine is out all on its own, and everybody else has forgotten that."

He's referring to the overseas-only Alpine A110, aPorsche 718 Caymanrival that's won praise for its incredible handling and its own contributions to vehicle weight loss. Not surprisingly, Murray bought himself one. His advice is all the more relevant when it comes to electric vehicles, which incorporate heavy battery packs.

"It's even more important with electric cars. One day, carmakers will have to take it seriously, so they might as well start spending the time and the money now, because whatever the powertrain is, and whatever the fuel source is, the cars are going to have to get more efficient."

Just to give you an even better idea how dedicated Murray is to cutting weight, he's looking forward to the day when someone beats the T.50's power to weight ratio. "I'd like to see somebody - and good luck to them - beat T.50 on what it's good at. Because to do that, they'd have to fund a brand-new V12. And I know what that costs," he said.