Fast McMurtry Spéirling is going on sale

The McMurtry Spéirling, the experimental electric fan car that demolished the Goodwood hill climb record in 2022, is going into production. The commercial version of the British-built and diminutive single-seater projectile is known as the McMurtry Spéirling PURE, and it will be unveiled at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed.

It’s 1.02m high, 1.58m wide and 3.45m long and weighs a measly 1,000kg with output of 745kW, or the more magical 1,000BHp from two electric motors, one for each rear wheel and a 60kWh battery system. It’s claimed the car is capable of covering 10 laps of the legendary British F1-track Silverstone at lap-record pace, and then fast charge in 20 minutes to run again.

Performance is rated at 1.4 seconds from standstill to 100km/h, a quarter-mile time of 7.97 seconds and top speed of 305km/h.

The client car boasts enhancements from the star of the Goodwood show. There’s a new fan system with a 15% increase in efficiency which sucks the car to the ground and generates downforce. Further tweaks include a 14% weight saving, wider and slick tyres and re-engineered suspension and bodywork. 

It remains a track-only car that’s eligible for the GT1 Sports Club and Fanatec GT World Challenge series. A downforce-on-demand system enables 3G and more cornering prowess, which the company says can be achieved even in some of the tightest corners on Grand Prix Circuits such as the ‘The Loop’ and ‘Village’ at Silverstone, or the Monaco hairpin. Its capability will exceed that of the machine which holds the Goodwood Festival of Speed Hillclimb record.

“The Spéirling PURE will herald a new era on the track. The sound, grip, acceleration, aesthetics and technology of this car are distinct,” says Thomas Yates, the founding director of the company. 

“Proving the Spéirling’s advantage via the outright hill climb record at Goodwood was a proud life achievement,” says Max Chilton, development driver. “Since then, it’s been rewarding to see what customers can achieve in the driving seat too. It’s hugely satisfying to be part of the company that are bringing this game changing technology to driving enthusiasts”.

Automotive journalist Henry Catchpole says: “After driving the Goodwood record-holding Spéirling, I’m not saying this is [like] walking on the moon, but in automotive terms, this is incredible”.

The validation prototype will be unveiled to the public at the Goodwood Festival of Speed while pre-production prototypes will follow in 2024. Only 100 will be produced and cost from £820,000 (R19.5m) + taxes. Deliveries will start in 2025.