As it works to prepare for production of its T.50, Gordon Murray Automotive (GMA) recently brought a prototype of the V-12-powered supercar to Arvidsjaur, Sweden for cold-weather testing.
While it looks like a pile of snowdrifts, some technical work is being done, including calibrating the car’s driver aids for low-grip situations, GMA chief test driver Gareth Howell explains in the video.
GMA T.50 cold weather test
The T.50 has a “hero mode” that allows for a bit of gliding while stability control works in the background, Howell noted. The aim of the cooperation with the supplier Continental is to make the interventions of the system as natural as possible, he said. It’s also possible to turn everything off, making it even easier to get sideways.
Despite the cold weather, there were no outages, Howell reported. The T.50 has now passed both cold and hot weather testing, as well as some agonizing safety tests, allowing engineers to proceed with final calibrations before production begins. This is a standard procedure for every modern production car – even for supercars.
Only 125 cars will be built, including 100 road cars like the ones shown here and 25 T.50s Niki Lauda Track versions. Prices start at the equivalent of $3.26 million, but the entire production has sold out. GMA has already announced a successor model called the T.33 and even talked about an electric SUV. Deliveries of the T.50 are now scheduled to begin in 2023, having missed an original launch in 2022.
The high price buys what aims to be the ultimate analogue supercar. With a naturally aspirated 3.9-liter V-12 that screams up to 12,100 rpm, coupled with a rear-mounted fan that can generate downforce or reduce drag, it potentially embarrasses every supercar on the planet, when it comes to technical excellence. Now we know it works well in the snow too.
