Cosworth GMA V12 to propel Gordon Murray’s T.50 supercar

In anticipation of the unveiling of Gordon Murray Automotive’s T.50 supercar on August 4, the British company has provided details of the Cosworth GMA V12 engine that will propel the latest creation of the former McLaren designer.

Only 50 such engines will be produced and Murray Automotive promises they will be the “world’s highest revving, fastest responding, most power dense, and lightest naturally aspirated V12 road car engine” to date. 

Though inspired by Formula One racing engines, the Cosworth GMA V12 “doesn’t share a single part with any other engine,” according to the news release. A bespoke 6-speed Xtrac H-pattern manual transmission will be linked to those 3.9-liter engines.

“More than half of any truly great driving experience is delivered by the engine, so right from the start I set the highest possible benchmark – to create the world’s greatest naturally aspirated V12,” Murray is quoted in the announcement.

“To be truly remarkable, an engine needs to have the right character; highly responsive, an amazing sound, engaging torque delivery, free-revving, and it has to be naturally aspirated. For all those reasons, the engine in the T.50 was never going to be anything other than a V12.”

A key part of the T.50 engine design was to keep it as small as possible, Murray Automotive said. 

“The original inspiration for the engine stemmed from the 3.3-liter V12 powering the legendary Ferrari 250 GTO – small capacity, characterful and powerful,” the company explained. 

“With a clear view on the required acceleration and torque, and the goal of a sub-1,000kg total vehicle weight, Cosworth proposed the capacity could be just 3.9-liters while still achieving supercar performance.”

Performance targets included the engine in Murray’s famed McLaren F1 road car and the engine that spins to 11,500 rpm in his Light Car Company “Rocket.” The Cosworth GMA V12 is rated at 663 horsepower at 11,500 rpm and 344 pound-feet of torque at 9,000, with 71 percent of maximum torque available at 2,500 revs, “key to ensuring day-to-day drivability.”

Boosting the overall power available in the T.50 is a 48-volt integrated starter-generator and “motorsport slipstream technology and ram air induction” that give performance yet another boost.

“The criteria and benchmarks set by Gordon for the T.50 engine comprised one of the toughest engine briefs we’ve ever taken on,” said Cosworth managing director Bruce Wood. “It pushes the boundaries in every direction and it is a genuine thrill for everyone at Cosworth to be part of what will surely become as fabled a vehicle as Gordon’s McLaren F1 before it.”

“Every component on this car is a piece of engineering art, and the engine is no exception,” Murray added. 

“I wanted the engine to look like a modern interpretation of a 1960s V12. If it wasn’t the beating heart of the T.50 it would make a fabulous, sculptural modern-art installation.”