Electric vehicles (EV) are taking names and kicking gas all over the world. The United States aims to eliminate the sale of new fossil fuel vehicles by 2035 and the European Union just recently announced plans to follow suite, also by 2035. In the UK, a new EV manufacturing startup secretly built an inspirational prototype EV supercar designed to beat any and all internal combustion engine supercars/hypercars at their own game, providing proof to the masses of the EV’s superiority over petrol-power.
McMurtry Automotive is a British concern co-founded by engineer and Irishman Sir David McMurtry. Their prototype car is called the Spéirling, which means Thunderstorm in Irish. It’s built small to be light, with a 1:1 power to weight ratio. With 1,000 horsepower at the rear wheels, the car weighs less than 1,000 kg (2,205 pounds) at the curb. Carbon fiber helps keep the weight down, but size matters, too: overall length is a mere 10.5 feet, width is just under 5 feet, and it’s only about 3.5 feet high. Oh, and there’s but one seat. No passengers, no luggage permitted. The body is exceptionally aerodynamic, allowing air to slip pass with little drag. However, the coolest accessory is a pair of high-powered electric fans behind the driver’s cockpit that suck air from underneath the car and blows it out the back, creating a vaccuum under the car and a strong downward force adjustable up to the 2,000 kg! Effectively, the Spéirling grips the road for outstanding handling which is a very good thing considering top speed is well over 200mph. By the way, this is not a silent EV. At highest output, those fans scream like a jet engine at 120db.
The Spéirling prototype is not street legal, but McMurtry Automotive has plans for a production version that will be.
Last month, the Spéirling won the 2022 Goodwood hillclimb with a record setting speed of 39.08 seconds. Originally built without a wing (as per photo above), the video below of the Spéirling setting a new speed record clearly shows a wing has been added.
The McMurtry Spéirling is a ground-hugging rocketship that 007 would feel right at home in. Welcome to the 21st century, Mr. Bond.
“39.08! McMurtry fan car breaks Goodwood Hill RECORD! | Festival of Speed 2022” (0:53)
