Faster Than An F1 Car! Driving The Incredible McMurtry Spéirling Fan Car | Henry Catchpole - The Drivers Seat - Hagerty Media
In collaboration with Mobil 1.
DO NOT ADJUST YOUR SCREEN – THIS FOOTAGE HAS NOT BEEN SPED UP! In this episode, Henry Catchpole has his face rearranged and neck muscles severely tested by the incredible McMurtry Spéirling, which is capable of cornering faster than an F1 car. Forget conventional hypercars like the Aston Martin Valkyrie or Mercedes AMG One, this little fan car is in a different league in terms of its performance. It can pull up to 3G laterally, even in tight bends, and will accelerate from 0-60mph in just 1.3 seconds.
We drove it at the fantastic MIRA test facility in the UK, which allowed Henry to really push the car to its extraordinary limits – even beyond them. What’s it like to spin a car with constant downforce in all directions? You’ll have to watch to find out.
The British-designed and built McMurtry is tiny, measuring just 11ft long and 5ft wide. It has a carbon fibre monocoque, weighs about 1000kg, has a 60kWh battery, and sends up to 1000bhp to the rear wheels alone. That sort of power going to just one set of tyres should be a recipe for wheel spin as soon as you breathe on the throttle, but not with the McMurtry. Two electric fans (it has two to provide a level of redundancy, like an aircraft) spin at up to 23,000rpm and combine with a sophisticated skirt system to provide up to 2000kg of downforce.
And just in case you think this is some sort of crazy one-off project car that will never see the real world, McMurtry’s Managing Director, Tom Yates, revealed to Hagerty that a customer version called the Spéirling Pure is currently being developed. Even more staggeringly, the Pure will actually have more performance. Yes, more. The mind boggles.
The price of the McMurtry Spéirling Pure will be £820,000 plus taxes, which sadly puts it firmly out of reach for most. But, given the technology and performance on offer, the asking price doesn’t seem outrageous when compared with other hypercars.
We hope you enjoy the episode and feel suitably wowed by the footage. If you enjoy it, please consider telling others about it – spread the word! Sharing is not only caring, it really does help us to keep making videos like this.
