Gordon Murray T.50 vs. McLaren Speedtail: Which is the real McLaren F1 successor?

As you probably know, the long-awaited Gordon Murray T.50 supercar has been unveiled this week, and there has been a bit of a dispute as to whether the T.50 or the Speedtail is the real McLaren F1 successor.  Well, I certainly have my opinions about that,  but I'll just cover the facts here, and let you decide for yourself if it is the Speedtail or the T.50.

1.  Exterior Deisgn

In terms of exterior design, the photos speak for themselves.  The Gordon Murray T.50 is much closer to the original design of the F1, which is to be expected, as they do have the same designer, Professor Gordon Murray.  The McLaren carries over a few key styling cues, but is overall very different.  The long tail at the rear is obviously taken from the F1 GTR Longtail, however, a feature that the T.50 doesn't have.  Below are some pictures, with the McLaren first, the T.50 third, and the F1 in the middle, so you can judge for yourself about the styling.

 

One obvious difference between the original F1 and both modern interpretations is the lack of any rear view mirrors, as you can see.

 

 Rear styling-wise, neither the Speedtail nor the T.50 have much in common with the F1, although the Speedtail does have the aforementioned longtail design.  One of the most distinctive features of the T.50 is the large multi-blade fan at the back, which aids in downforce and overall power, but does not look even remotely like the F1's rear.

 

The doors are all the same dihedral type found on the F1.  No changes here.

As for the top view, the T.50 is most definitely closer to the original design than the Speedtail.  The iconic roof scoop is still there, but on the T.50 it feeds the fan.  The Speedtail is gorgeous, but a little too modern.

2.  Interior Design

There isn't a whole lot to cover here.  Both the Speedtail and the T.50 stay true to the F1's seating layout, with the driver's seat all by itself smack-dab in the center of the cab, if I can call it that, and two passenger seats side by side behind that.

 

3.  Engine, Transmission, and Performance

This seems like a lot to cover in just one section, but it's really not.  Let's start with the F1.  All the world knows that the McLaren F1 had a BMW V12 naturally aspirated (NA) engine which can rev up to 7,500rpm, coupled to a 6-speed manual 'box.  The 'standard' car could zip from 0-60mph in just 3.9 seconds, quite a good figure for its time, and accomplished in part thanks to a low weight of just 2,509 pounds, and go on to a top speed of 240.01mph, at least so they say.  Now, what about the Speedtail?  

 

The Speedtail uses McLaren's special 4.0L V8 engine, but it is twin-turbocharged, an has assistance from a 312hp electric motor, thus making it a hybrid.  The transmission is a 7-speed dual-clutch auto.  The official performance specs of the Speedtail are 0-60 in 2.5 seconds, and a top speed of 250mph.  Impressive, no doubt, but the car is pretty heavy, weighing in at 3,153 pounds.  Good for a hybrid hypercar, but it can't help the handling.

 

The T.50, on the other hand, stays true to the F1's driver-focused experience.  The engine is a 654hp NA Cosworth-developed V12, which can rev all the way up to 12,100rpm.  The transmission is an X-Trac 6-speed H-pattern manual unit.  Official performance specs have not yet been revealed, but GMA (Gordon Murray Automotive) says they are 'not chasing power or speed figures'.  This likely means the T.50 will do 0-60 in around 3.1 seconds, and have a top speed of up to 220mph, judging by the very low weight of just 2,174 pounds.

 

4.  Conclusion

So, which stays truest to the F1's overall formula?  The Speedtail or the T.50?  Well, like I said, I will let you decide for yourself, but I will give you my opinion.  In my opinion, the Speedtail is a beautiful, modern hypercar, worthy of a alot of good names, but 'F1 successor' is not one of them.  The T.50, on the other hand, is all you could want in a drivers car, and simply improves on the F1s formula without changing it too much.  It is complete with a high-revving V12, a manual transmission, excellent handling, and on top of that is most likely a future classic.  That's my idea of a true McLaren F1 successor.

 

Lazareth Auto Moto: The craziest vehicle company on planet Earth

Ever heard of the Lazareth motor company?  No?  Well then, this post is for you.  Lazareth is a low-volume French vehicle manufacturer that makes vehicles that are just out of this world.  Here is a look at some of them.

1.  Lazareth LM 847

You want crazy?  I'll show you crazy!  This is the Lazareth LM 847, a four-wheeled superbike equipped with a  Maserati V8 that produces 470hp!  It reminds me a bit of the Dodge Tomahawk concept that was released in 2003.  The best description of it comes from DigitalTrends, which described it as 'a Maserati V8 on wheels'.

2.  Lazareth Wazuma GT

The Wazuma is a purely crazy vehicle, powered either by a Maserati V8 or a V12, depending on which version you're talking about.  There are five different versions of it, these being the V8F, V8M, GT, R1, and BIO V12.  Driving one of these must be stupidly fun!  It's unclear how exactly to classify it, due to its unique wheel layout.  It's not a car, or a motorbike, or a three-wheeler.  Lazareth calls it a superquad, which is more fitting than names I could think up for it.

Wazuma GT

Wazuma V8F

Wazuma V8M

Wazuma R1

Wazuma BIO V12

3.  Lazareth LMV 496

You thought the last two were crazy enough?  Get a load of this!  It's a hovering superbike!  Yep, you heard me right.  The LMV 496 can fly.  When the four wheels are folded in, it looks like a 'normal' four-wheeled superbike (if there is such a thing), but when you fold them out, it is transformed into a 1,300hp jet-engined drone.  It can hover using its four 69,000rpm jet engines for approximately 10 minutes at a time, before needing a fuel refill.  But because of all the space taken up with the fuel tank, jets, and other equipment needed to make it hover, when on the ground, it can only drive for 60 miles max using a small 60hp electric motor.  The price when new was $500,000, and I suspect prices on the used market, if any ever hit the used market, will rise a great deal, especially because only 5 of them will be made.

4.  Lazareth Maserati Mini Moke

Yes, that ugly little thing is a Mini Moke, and it is powered by -- Can you guess?  A Maserati V8 engine!  Are you noticing a pattern here?  Said V8 engine produces 454hp and 338 lb-ft of torque, in a car that weighs only 1,870 pounds!  Even though that must result in some pretty incredible acceleration figures, Lazareth has not unfortunately provided any more of the juicy details.  This cute little monster is still in production, should you happen to want one, but you will have to fork out $130K in order to have one.

5.  Lazareth Amphibie

While on the subject of outrageously modified Mini Mokes, we should touch on this one, called the Amphibie.  A very good name, as it really looks like a frog from the front, does it not?  Joking aside, the specs are as follows; Using a tiny 400cc four-cylinder, it makes 19hp powering the wheels on land, and 6hp to power the propeller when in the water.  Top speed on land is a respectable 55mph, while its top speed in the water is a snail-like 3mph.

 What do you think of the Lazareth company?  Is in really cool, or ridiculously stupid?  Let me know in the comments, and thanks for reading!  Please check out the rest of the site too!

Coolest Car Concepts that Should have Made It to Production

You have probably heard of cars like the Jaguar C-X75 or the Maserati Birdcage, which were both going to go into production, but didn't make it.  I'm here to tell you about some concepts you don't often heard about, though.  So here we go!

1.  Porsche 918 RSR

This is one of the coolest concept cars ever, in my opinion.  As you may know, 'RSR' is Porsche's racing car designation.  It translates literally to 'racing sport racing car', but no matter how redundant the name, it's still way cool.  The 918 RSR concept was supposed to be a Le Mans racing version of the 918 Spyder, but it never made it.  No one really knows why.

2.  Nissan IDX Nismo

The IDX was supposed to be the spiritual successor to the Datsun 510, but it never got anywhere due the high production costs.

3.  Citroen GT

The Citroen GT concept was originally planned to be a virtual-only car, for the Gran Turismo video games, but when people started clamoring for it to go into production, they finally gave in, and said they would build 8 units.  However, they never did, and to this day it still exists only in Gran Turismo.

4.  Ford Shelby GR1

The Ford Shelby GR1 concept was another car not originally planned for production, but enough people wanted it that they decided to put it into production.  But the project never saw the light of day, at least not from Ford.  As a side note, though, Shelby recently announced plans to put Ford-powered replicas of the GR1 concept into production.  So you could potentially still get one sometime soon.

5.  Lamborghini Miura

The original Lamborghini Miura is an automotive icon, and, in 2006, Lamborghini tried to recreate it.  (Honestly, I think they did a superb job of it, too).  But I don't even think they ever planned to put it into production, so it still doesn't exist.  Really, really too bad.

6.  Koenigsegg Quant

Koenigsegg never had plans to build the Quant, but all the same, it's awesome.  It had two electric motors generating 512hp and 527 lb-ft of torque.  The sprint from 0-60mph would have taken 5.2 seconds, while top speed would be limited to 170mph.  Impressive specs, but I guess not impressive enough for a Koenigsegg.  After all, for a class-leading hypercar manufacturer, 0-60 in 5.2 seconds is pathetic.

7.  NanoFlowcell Quant F

NanoFlowcell was a startup electric car company with really cool tech, namely, all the proposed models ran using salt water.  This enabled a long range, excellent battery life, and really, really cheap fuel costs.  Even cheaper than just charging a car at home.  But the company never got off the ground.  The Quant F was one of 4 proposed models, and it would have had 1,075hp and 2,139 lb-ft of torque (an astronomical figure, in case you didn't know), 0-60 in 2.4 seconds, and a top speed of 186mph.  It would have been quite the car.  That being said, take my words about NanoFlowecell being dead with a proverbial grain of salt, because their website at least is still active, and, after all, prototypes were made of all models, so there is still a chance, I guess, given enough funding.

8.  Lotec Sirius

Ah, now we're getting to more obscure cars!  This is the Lotec Sirius, a concept car from 2003 that was definitely supposed to go into production, but didn't.  It was an incredible car, though.  1,200hp, a top speed of 248mph, and a 0-60 time of 3.8 seconds make it comparable even to hypercars of the 2010s.  Very impressive.

9.  Zender Vision 3

Hans-Albert Zender was an incredible guy, who made incredible car concepts, but unfortunately, none of his awesome concepts made it to production.  The Vision 3 is just one of many concepts. It featured a Mercedes engine capable of producing 304hp, enabling the car to launch from 0-60 in just 6.4 seconds, a respectable figure in its day.

10.  Toroidion 1MW

And now for the most insane of them all: Introducing the Toroidion 1MW hypercar!  It was a concept car released in 2015, and it had some pretty unbelievable claims about its performance.  It had 1,341hp, which is exactly one megawatt of power, thus its name, 1MW, a top speed of 249mph, a 0-60 time of under 2 seconds, and, get this; 0-249mph (0-400kph) in just 11 seconds!  Just how crazy is that?!  But we still aren't to the craziest claim yet; the torque.  Thanks to the fact that it is electrically powered, the torque figure is just pure insanity: 17,701 pound-feet (24,000nm) of torque all told!  To put that into perspective, that's how much torque 15 Bugatti Chirons, 35 Lamborghini Aventador SVJs, or 101 Lotus Exiges would make!  That is just crazy. 

 

So there you are!  Did you enjoy this feature?  Let me know in the comments, and thanks for reading!