- Cosworth’s 3.9-liter V12 has been upgraded to deliver 761 hp.
- This bright green prototype lapped the circuit in just 1:53.03.
- The car can pull 3g under braking and 2.7g through corners.
It’s been more than five years since Gordon Murray Automotive unveiled the T.50s Niki Lauda, a track-only version of its driver-focused three-seater. Over the ensuing years, the car has been slowly developed and is now ready for primetime, passing its final test before production begins. The test proved just how incredibly fast this beast is.
With Dario Franchitti behind the wheel, this bright green T.50s experimental prototype, known as XP3, was taken to the Bahrain International Circuit. It laid down a blistering time of 1:53.03, which is seven seconds quicker than the all-time GT3 race car lap record, and around 10 seconds quicker than typical GT3 lap times.
Read: Gordon Murray Would Love To Go Back To Le Mans
The Bahrain circuit was selected for this final stage of development due to its combination of high-speed corners, hard braking zones, and hot conditions. If the T.50s can perform flawlessly here, it should be able to handle any other circuit with ease.
During the lap, Franchitti pulled up to 3g under braking, 2.7g through the circuit’s sweeping corners, and hit a top speed of 184 mph (296 km/h).
“The T.50s is the most engaging car I’ve ever driven,” Franchitti said after the session. “For pure fun factor, it surpasses all other track-only models, my favorite supercars of all time, and even the race cars I drove to multiple world championship wins. Gordon set out to create the greatest on-track driving experience ever. The team has more than delivered. The feedback, responsiveness, performance, sound, visibility, braking, stability… everything… It’s just perfect.”
A V12 Maniac
Like the road-going T.50, the dedicated track version uses a 3.9-liter naturally-aspirated V12 sourced from Cosworth. However, it’s been upgraded to deliver 761 hp at 11,500 rpm, and revs all the way to 12,100 rpm. Helping to extract the additional grunt is a new cylinder head, upgraded camshafts, and a higher 15:1 compression ratio. There’s also a new air intake and a lightweight Inconel exhaust system.
Coupled to the upgraded V12 is a six-speed semi-automatic transmission. Important aerodynamic upgrades also help the car deliver up to 2,645 lbs (1,199 lbs) of downforce. Just 25 units are being built, all of which have already been accounted for.
