America's most powerful convertibles
Take a look at the most powerful convertibles ever produced by American automakers.
Legendary automotive designer and engineer Gordon Murray has unveiled what he’s billing as “the purest, lightest, most driver-focused supercar ever made.”
(GMA)
Murray’s 50-year-long resume is littered with many breakthrough racing cars and the 1990s McLaren F1, which was the world’s fastest car of its day at a top speed of 240 mph.
The new T.50 is a mid-engine supercar with three-across seating and a central driver positon, a six-speed manual transmission and a naturally-aspirated V12 engine without any hybridization that revs faster than any production motor like it.
(GMA)
The butterfly-door coupe features a carbon fiber chassis and overall weight of just 2,160 pounds, which is about a half-ton less than anything like it on the road today, but it still has room for side trunks.
Instead of a big wing mounted on top of it, the T.50 is equipped with a fan in the rear that evacuates air from underneath to generate an adjustable amount of downforce through a ground effect, similar to the design of his 1978 Brabham BT46B F1 car.
(GMA)
To reduce weight, the T.50 makes extensive use of aluminum, titanium and glazed glass that Murray says is 28 percent thinner than normal.
(GMA)
The unique 3.9-liter engine was developed by Cosworth and is rated at 654 hp. It can rev up to 12,100 rpm, which blows away the Ferrari LaFerrari’s previous production V12 record of 9,250 rpm.
Performance figures have not been released, and Gordon’s main aim is to deliver a vehicle with unparalleled handling on a road course but both lighter and more powerful than the F1, which could accelerate to 60 mph in 3.0 seconds.
Gordon Murray Automotive will build just 100 T.50s beginning in January 2022 at a starting price of $3 million.