There is no denying that Gordon Murray is a design genius. Murray is responsible for some of the very best Formula 1 cars to ever grace the racetrack, such as the McLaren MP4/4 and the Brabham BT46B “Fan Car”. Murray is also the man who designed the fearsome McLaren F1. A car that for many years held the record as the world's fastest production car, and even today is lightning quick at 240 mph. As we all know, though, Murray has not been resting on his laurels since he built the F1.
In more recent times, Murray set up Gordon Murray Automotive. This is the company in which he and his team will build some truly amazing supercars, starting with the T.50 that debuted in 2020. As 2022 dawned, Murray and GMA launched the new T.33. An equally impressive car that is designed to be a bit more “every day” compared to the ferocious T.50. The T.33 has quite the eye-catching design, that sets it apart from nearly every supercar out there. Let's take a closer look at the T.33 and its design, and why the car should be a winner.
The World's Most Beautiful And Accomplished Supercar
Murray had set about creating a car that really stood out from the crowd, in a world where a lot of supercars all seem to follow a familiar design trend. Murray wanted the T.33 to be classically styled and timeless. To that end, the T.33 takes a lot of cues from sports cars from the 1960s. You can see this in the headlights, for example, that are positioned vertically, like you’d see on a 1960s Dino 206 SP, and not horizontally as most are today.
Murray recently explained on a video on The Late Brake Show YouTube channel, hosted by Jonny Smith, that to get a similar design to the 1960s onto the T.33 was tricky due to a pendulum test, ie a pendulum swinging at the headlights shouldn’t shatter it. That in itself is an incredibly interesting details. Murray is at paints to point out though that the car is not “retro”, more that it just takes a lot of its cues from an era of cars he loves. You could argue that it is in a similar vein to the Ferrari 296 GTB that also takes design cues from classic cars.
The General Shape Of The T.33
There are some more interesting things to note on the T.33. The mouth of the car is quite different to a lot of modern supercars, low down and relatively slim compared to something like an Aston Martin. There is no front splitter either, meaning that the whole front fascia is uncluttered and with little to perhaps get in the way of the sleekness. This is achieved thanks to very clever aero, such as a hidden front diffuser, which takes away the need for a splitter. A very clever feature indeed. That lack of a splitter also makes the T.33 a lot more practical than many supercars.
The design across the side and around the air box, as he mentions on The Late Brake Show, reminded Murray of a classic Targa from the 1960s, and that is very much evident. There aren’t any door handles as such on the car, too, with the latch hidden behind the badge on the side of the car. This is all to make the car as aerodynamically efficient as possible and to keep the overall design of the T.33 as clean and uninterrupted as is possible. It’s the same attention to detail that we saw on the McLaren F1, and it's brilliant.
What Lies Under The Hood Of The T.33
Of course, we have to look at what lies under the hood of the T.33. It is the same, high revving, Cosworth V12 engine that Murray and the team put in the T.50. Developed with Cosworth, the V12 is slightly retuned to produce 607 hp, and rev all the way up to 11,100 rpm which is only 900 rpm short of what the T.50 can rev up to. Interestingly, Murray again while talking to Jonny Smith mentioned that the next GMA car will probably be hybrid, making this the last naturally-aspirated only car to come from GMW.
A Continuation Of Design Genius
The GMA T.33 is a continuation of the design genius we have come used too from Gordon Murray. If the T.50 was the true successor to the McLaren F1, then the T.33 is the first, more daily-useable car to come from GMA. Of course, when it costs around $1.7 million it's not going to be a car that everyone can afford, but we know that’s not what the T.33 is about. It's about creating one of the most unique and interesting supercars currently on the market, and Murray and his team have absolutely nailed it.
Sources: The Late Brake Show YouTube Channel, Gordon Murray Automotive