GMA T.50s testing concludes with 184mph flat-out lap of Bahrain F1 circuit
GMA’s 761bhp V12 track-only hypercar is now finished and in production, with the 25 examples set to be delivered before the end of 2026
With the GMA T.50, we know now that Gordon Murray delivered on his promise of a car to succeed the F1 as the ultimate driver’s car – a visceral, richly analogue, distraction-free on-road experience almost beyond compare. The track-only T.50s Niki Lauda was part two of that project, featuring a similar technical package but a different ethos underpinning it – one focused on uncompromising track performance and freeing that V12 of any shackles related to slow-speed usability and road homologation, to the tune of 761bhp.
Like the T.50, however, gestation of the T.50s has been protracted, largely due to how different the engine and the transmission (which has changed from a manual to a paddleshift) are from those of the road car. We’re now five years on from the model’s 2021 reveal and almost two years on from its dynamic (fire-spitting) debut at the 81st Goodwood Members’ Meeting. Now, finally, it’s passed its final production approval test. Production of the 25 customer cars is therefore now underway, with completion of deliveries expected before the end of the year.
Going back to its debut, Murray was so confident in this track-focused variant’s abilities that he saw fit to name it in tribute to one of the most successful Formula 1 drivers of all-time, Niki Lauda. The model’s launch date – 22 February – even coincided with the three-time F1 champion’s birthday.
We now know exactly what it’ll do round a track, with Dario Franchitti lapping it around the Bahrain International Circuit in 1:53.03, topping 184mph, peaking at 2.7 g in high-speed cornering and 3 g under braking along the way. For context, Kamui Kobayashi’s hyperpole lap in his Toyota GR010 LMH prototype at the 2025 8 Hours of Bahrain was 1:46.8. Modern GT3 cars complete the lap in no less than 2 minutes.
GMA recently received a £90million investment from Halo Cars Group, headed by the man who was GMA’s first ever customer and was the commissioner behind the GM SV S1 LM project. T.50 road car deliveries completed last year and alongside completion of T.50s deliveries, T.33 development is expected to be completed and production to begin soon.
GMA T.50s – everything you need to know
Priced from £3.1m before local taxes, the T.50s will be a ‘turn up and go’ style of track car, without the need for any technicians or support crew to be present for it to be driven. Each example will be sold with all the tools and support hardware required to run it at a track event.
Engine and transmission
Starting under its new rear clamshell, the 3.9-litre V12 engine has received a substantial set of changes from engine builder Cosworth. These include a new cylinder head and camshafts, and a higher compression ratio of 15:1, plus the removal of the standard V12’s variable valve timing. Peak power is now rated at 761bhp (up from 725bhp) at 11,500rpm – 100bhp more than the road-going T.50 – on the way to a 12,100rpm red line. The original specs had it that torque was also up, albeit very marginally, to 347lb ft at 9500rpm (+2lb ft), though it’s unclear if this number has changed for production.
With a host of lightweighting measures within the engine, the V12’s overall weight has been reduced to just 162kg, 16kg less than the T.50-spec unit that was already the lightest non-competition V12 ever. The intake and exhaust systems have been completely redesigned, too. The former features a new ram induction system to force more air into the engine, while the exhaust is a new catalyst-free, straight-through design made of Inconel and exits lower down, between the diffuser’s venturi tunnels instead of either side of the rear-mounted fan.
From a philosophical perspective, the biggest change between the T.50 and T.50s is the transmission. Gone is the six-speed manual, in its place a six-speed Instantaneous Gearshift (ISG) semi-automatic gearbox from Xtrac. Despite only having a single clutch, the transmission’s pre-selector design claims to yield the instantaneous shifts of a dual-clutch unit, yet without the associated weight. The gearbox’s mechanisms are also electronically rather than hydraulically driven, further reducing complexity and also even more weight.
Chassis
The carbonfibre tub is mostly familiar from the T.50 road car, with only fixings, carriers and other supplementary changes required to support the track car’s differences. The T.50s also runs the same basic double-wishbone suspension design at all four corners, although the springs, dampers and anti-roll bars have all been respecified and recalibrated to support the higher aerodynamic loads.
GMA has also swapped the road car’s 19-inch wheels for smaller, 18-inch forged magnesium units weighing less than 6kg each. The reduction in size is to support the standard-fit Michelin slicks, and causes no problems clearing the carryover Brembo brake package, which includes six-piston calipers and 380mm carbon-ceramic discs at the front.
The steering still has hydraulic power assistance, but has been given a faster rack. Overall, the T.50s was claimed on reveal to weigh in at just 852kg with fluids, 135kg less than the road car. GMA now describes it as weighing ‘less than 900kg’.
Aerodynamics
The rear-mounted delta-wing, front splitter, canards and rear diffuser are the most obvious aerodynamic changes and contribute to the bulk of the downforce gains. These are all passive elements, meaning that unlike the road car there are no active spoilers, but the aero balance is manually adjustable, with the wing, splitter and ride height all able to be trimmed depending on the driver’s preferences. The rear-mounted fan remains, too, interactively supplementing the aggressive static aero package.
It was initially claimed that at its 200mph+ top speed, the T.50s is able to generate up to 1500kg of downforce – a figure that was said to be trimmed down considerably from its ultimate capability so not to require stronger and therefore heavier components around the suspension and body to support it. That’s now revised to 1200kg in practice – a figure that’s likely now been optimised based on a trade-off with drag and component weight as above.
There have also been an array of subtler aero modifications, including aggressive wheelarch cutaways and wing vents to reduce pressure in the arches, as well as the fitment of a fin stretching from the roof-mounted intake scoop to the rear wing’s leading edge to help lateral stability.
Design and interior
All of the T.50s’s exterior body panels are unique and have been subtly resurfaced from those fitted to the road car to take into account the marginally wider track. Form has certainly followed function, leading to an aesthetic that’s not dissimilar to that of the McLaren F1 GTR.
Iconic graphics such as the front-mounted NACA ducts and the strip vents up the T.50s’s intake scoop interplay with dramatic and contemporary shapes around the rear diffuser and front splitter. They speak not only of the advances in aerodynamic design since the GTR’s ’90s heydays, but also of the intricate manufacturing capability only possible through years of development in composite technology.
The cabin retains its central driving position and one outer seat (to the driver’s left), but this second seat can be removed to further reduce weight. The T.50’s simple but beautifully formed dash and information display have been removed, in their place a smaller info display and a control bank to the right of the driver – a direct reference to the F1 GTR.
