The McMurtry Spéirling Drives Upside Down, Finally Putting A High Downforce Theory Into Practice
If you follow motorsport for long enough, you'll eventually hear that a Formula 1 car generates enough downforce above a certain speed that it could theoretically drive upside down. McMurtry Automotive turned this theory into reality after having its Spéirling hypercar complete the impressive feat in a video published on Friday. Admittedly, the Spéirling's success can be solely attributed to its proprietary 'Downforce-on-Demand' fan system that produces 4,400 pounds of downforce at the push of a button. It's a feature that wouldn't be out of place on the next Batmobile.
McMurtry didn't have to deal with the pesky logistics of finding a tunnel long enough to safely complete the run. The British manufacturer constructed a rotating rig at its headquarters in England. The hypercar drove up a ramp onto a metal road deck and came to a stop. Thomas Yates, the driver and company co-founder, then switched on the fans. For those looking to do the math, Spéirling weighs 2,200 pounds. With the stopped car's fan whirling at 23,000 rpm, the rig was rotated to invert the road deck. The rig was locked upside down. Then, the hypercar rolled forward a few feet before stopping while inverted. The rig rotated the road deck back down, and the Spéirling drove off like nothing happened.
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The McMurtry Spéirling, as a 1,000-hp twin-motor electric hypercar, didn't have to clear the other hurdles that an F1 car would have clear to drive upside down. Dry-sump combustion engines aren't designed to run inverted and would eventually fail catastrophically. Oil wouldn't be able to cycle through and keep the engine lubricated. To oversimplify the system, the lubricant is pumped from an oil tank into the top of the engine. Gravity pulls the oil down to a sump at the bottom, where the oil is pumped back into the tank.
This isn't the first time that the Spéirling has done the seemingly impossible. The prototype hypercar shattered the Goodwood Hillclimb record in 2022 after former F1 driver Max Chilton completed the 1.16-mile run in 39.08 seconds. He surpassed the previous mark by over two seconds. The 'Downforce-On-Demand' system isn't a gimmick. It allows the Spéirling to have prodigious acceleration and cornering speeds. McMurtry is working towards finalizing a production version of its hypercar, called the Spéirling PURE. Only 100 will be produced.
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