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Miami Herald
a day ago
- Automotive
- Miami Herald
Gordon Murray Special Vehicles Blows Monterey Car Week Away With Two McLaren F1-Inspired Manual V12 Hypercars
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. Copyright 2025 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Car and Driver
2 days ago
- Automotive
- Car and Driver
Gordon Murray Special Vehicles Pays Tribute to Le Mans
A spin-off from Gordon Murray Automotive, Gordon Murray Special Vehicles will focus on small-run and custom designs, unveiling its first two projects at The Quail during Monterey Car Week 2025. The GMSV Le Mans GTR is limited to just 24 units and features space-age longtail bodywork. The GMSV S1 LM is a customer special request, and only five examples will be built. Gordon Murray's name remains forever married to the famed McLaren F1 he designed, but these days we've been hearing it more in reference to his refined take on that car, the T.50. But that's all Gordon Murray Automotive (GMA). Just one company can't hold all Mr. Murray's big ideas, which leaves room for Gordon Murray Special Vehicles (GMSV). GMSV allows Murray to play with one-off designs, special commissions, and history-inspired continuation builds. View Photos Gordon Murray Special Vehicles The possibilities are endless, but to start, GMSV revealed two in-process projects at The Quail during 2025 Monterey Car Week. Both cars are Le Mans-inspired and take the high-revving, lightweight format of the T.50 to the next level. The first, GMSV's "Le Mans GTR," plays off the extended rear deck of what's commonly referred to as "longtail" designs. The stretched back allows for better downforce and stability at high speeds, and the look caught the imagination of race fans and car designers. GMSV Le Mans GTR The GTR uses the GMA 4.0-liter V-12 engine and manual six-speed from the T.50, but has a completely different body, aiming for high grip and cornering without the controversial rear fan of the T.50 and T.50S. Its massive rear wing and protruding diffuser might be only a fraction less controversial, but at least the owner won't have to answer questions about how they work. Roof-mounted air intakes will give the GTR a sound to match its racy looks and 12,100-rpm redline. View Photos Gordon Murray Special Vehicles GMSV will also offer the GTR as an SV Design model with a stiffer and lighter suspension, wider track, bigger tires, and more cooling for true track action. GMSV consultant Dario Franchitti said that while it's not accurate to call the Le Mans GTR track-focused, it will have a noticeably different driving personality than the T.50. The display GTR is still in the modelling stage, but the plan is to build 24 GMSV Le Mans GTR models, and GMSV says they are all sold. You get a cookie if you can guess why GMSV went with 24 as the production run. Hint: How many hours are there in the famous endurance race? GMSV S1 LM For the S1 LM, there was no need to find buyers, as the customer came to Murray with a special request for a car that harkens back directly to the modified McLaren F1 GTR that took victory at Le Mans in 1995. It's got a much more McLaren-y look than the GTR, but it tucks in more at the middle, giving it the coke-bottle shape Murray has always bemoaned as missing from the original F1. View Photos Gordon Murray Special Vehicles It looks great on five-spoke wheels, and those should make it through to the final design. Unfortunately, what look like pop-up headlights will most likely get nixed before production. The S1 LM builds around a central airfoil, roof-mounted intake, split rear wing, and a central four-part exhaust. It uses a 4.3-liter naturally-aspirated V-12, which is a bored-out version of T.50's engine. "It's lighter!" said Franchitti. Like its sibling, the S1 LM uses a large wing and a wide rear diffuser to sweep air out from under the body. Just one custom Gordon Murray car wasn't enough for this customer; they have five road-legal S1 LM models on order. Gordon Murray Special Vehicles View Photos Gordon Murray Special Vehicles All these special projects and sold-out runs bode well for the future of the Gordon Murray Group, said CEO Phillip Lee. "The last car is on the production line for T.50," he remarked, adding that the T.50S track variant will start production in September, and the T.33 remains on target for the summer of 2026. In the meantime, Gordon Murray is still drawing cars. "Sometimes we'll be in a meeting and I'll think Gordon is listening and then at the end he'll slide over a piece of paper with something fantastic on it and say, 'What do you think, should we build this?'" Elana Scherr Senior Editor, Features Like a sleeper agent activated late in the game, Elana Scherr didn't know her calling at a young age. Like many girls, she planned to be a vet-astronaut-artist, and came closest to that last one by attending UCLA art school. She painted images of cars, but did not own one. Elana reluctantly got a driver's license at age 21 and discovered that she not only loved cars and wanted to drive them, but that other people loved cars and wanted to read about them, which meant somebody had to write about them. Since receiving activation codes, Elana has written for numerous car magazines and websites, covering classics, car culture, technology, motorsports, and new-car reviews. In 2020, she received a Best Feature award from the Motor Press Guild for the C/D story "A Drive through Classic Americana in a Polestar 2." In 2023, her Car and Driver feature story "In Washington, D.C.'s Secret Carpool Cabal, It's a Daily Slug Fest" was awarded 1st place in the 16th Annual National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards by the Los Angeles Press Club. Read full bio
