Gordon Murray Special Vehicles Blows Monterey Car Week Away With Two McLaren F1-Inspired Manual V12 Hypercars

Miami Herald

18 hours ago

Gordon Murray Automotive, responsible for the T.50 and T.33 variants, now has a sister company specializing in the sorts of bespoke creations that turn exotics into generational works of art. It's called Gordon Murray Special Vehicles, and the first two creations to be commissioned are named S1 LM and Le Mans GTR, making their debut at Monterey Car Week. As their names hint, they pay tribute to the McLaren F1 LM and GTR of Le Mans fame, and they give the great Gordon Murray opportunities to further improve on iconic hypercars he's penned.
GMSV's Bespoke division will handle one-of-one customer commissions like the S1 LM, while its Heritage division will be responsible for continuation cars and reimaginings of cars Murray designed. Finally, SV design will produce ultra-low-volume cars like the Le Mans GTR.
Since the GMSV S1 LM is the first car from the new company, it only makes sense to start there. 'S1' stands for 'Special One' and was ordered in a series of five, just like the GTR-mimicking McLaren F1 LM road car. Some of these five got an unrestrected race engine, and the S1 LM goes a similar way, with an enlarged 4.3-liter version of the 4.0-liter V12 from the T.50. Still capable of 12,100 rpm, it now produces "over 700 horsepower," and like the Aston Martin Valkyrie, the car has ear defenders for each of its occupants - in this case, three.
Sadly for the rest of us, all five examples are going to one selfish customer obsessed with the McLaren F1, who worked with GMA and his own designer to help craft this modern reincarnation of the road-legal racer. With the McLaren F1 so valuable that it's practically impossible to write off in a crash, the S1 LM is instead based on the aforementioned GMA three-seater, but every surface is new, and the carbon fiber body has a lower roofline than the T.50. Unlike that car, there's no rear fan. Instead, there's an Inconel exhaust (wrapped in 18-karat gold-foiled heat shielding) exiting out of four central pipes like the car that inspired this design. Importantly, Murray has always bemoaned that his original McLaren F1 design did not have the Coke-bottle curves that would have given the F1 a much more sensual shape. That has been fixed here, and the result is something that turns the F1's design from striking to stunning.
A bespoke aerodynamics package promises high-speed stability, while a unique suspension with new geometry, a lower ride height, and custom damper tuning should make for an even more engaging drive. Speaking of, there is still a six-speed manual gearbox, now with a redesigned linkage that delivers shorter rifle-bolt-like throws. Completely new seats and a fully redesigned interior with a new McLaren F1-like wheel masterfully blend retro design cues with contemporary craftsmanship, whether we're talking about the futuristic silver spec or the classic green tartan interior shown in these images. This respect for the past and embrace of innovative design will keep this interior spectacular for decades to come, and we look forward to seeing what the other configurations look like.
Okay, so we have no chance at owning the S1 LM. What about the GMSV Le Mans GTR? Nearly five times as many will be made, so there's a shot, right? Of course not. Low-volume hypercars that are revealed at Monterey Car Week are often sold out long before, and that's the case with all 24 of these (one for each hour of the iconic Le Mans endurance race). The design takes inspiration from Murray's own longtail designs but also uses longtails like the Matra-Simca MS660, Porsche 917, and Alfa Romeo Tipo 33/3 as its muses. GMSV has developed a new platform for the vehicle, with the GMA 4.0-liter V12 and manual six-speed as almost the only elements carried over from the sister company. The Le Mans GTR also does away with a rear fan, yet its front splitter, deep side skirts, and twin-channel rear diffuser (through which the double exhaust exits) still "generate maximum ground effect aerodynamics." A roof-mounted ram-air intake much larger than those on the T.50 or T.33 promises an intoxicating induction sound through the cabin, with the centrally seated driver surely benefiting the most.
Stiffer and lighter suspension, a wider track, larger Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires, enhanced cooling capacity, and new vents and side-pod intakes for engine and gearbox cooling will allow for sustained abuse on track, and the solid mounting of the engine means the driver will have a direct connection with what the car is doing beneath them. Again, we must mention the Aston Martin Valkyrie. This has its engine mounted to the bulkhead behind the occupants, and the vibrations it creates are, shall we say, less than comfortable. However, GMSV has developed a new system that it says removes many of these noise and vibration issues. Still festooned in carbon fiber but less dramatically styled, this cabin is more reminiscent of the T.50 than the S1 LM, yet it's also clearly a much more high-end experience, with texturing and detailing on practically every surface, including the stunning door pulls and the hardware that binds these elements to the doors.
Let's start with the F1 tribute. It looks as futuristic as a Kyza render, yet is unmistakably still teeming with F1 DNA. The massive lower side intake adds a level of drama and menace that the original was missing, and which other supercars of the era, like the Lamborghini Diablo, fully capitalized on. The combination of narrow LED slits and outlines that mimic the shape of the original headlights is arguably the only correct way to reimagine the F1, and the simplicity of the front fascia does a fine job of upholding the clean aesthetic that appealed to so many fans of the original. Admittedly, the intake on the shoulder line breaks up the clean lines of the profile, but this is an LM tribute, and combined with the five-spoke wheels and hood intake, it's just racy enough. At the back, the fonts on the badges and their placement on the complex mesh between the vaned taillights are elements that are only fully appreciated up close, and the classic triple-exit bumper vents are pure racecar. With the massive diffuser and exposed rear tires, the design combines the best of old-school '90s design with modern aerodynamic know-how.
As for its sibling, the sharper angles, vertical lines below the sculpted headlights, and the almost Zagato-like rear end truly stir the soul in a way that the perhaps-too-pure T.50 did not. Both are beautiful, but this is a car that instantly spikes heart rates the moment it's seen, while the T.50's design needed to be savored to be fully appreciated. The rear haunches call to mind a Ferrari FXX-K from the front and the Ford GT from the rear, but there's also a clear GMA flavor in the glasshouse, roof snorkel, birds-eye view, and the lighting elements.
Both cars are stunning, and while we have no idea what they cost, their provenance, performance, and presence seem worth whatever the asking price might have been. To sum these two cars up in a single sentence may be impossible, and we can't wait to see what's next from GMSV.
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