Tourbillon
Cornering Kingpin
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With only 1,000kg and 600hp this will be a favorite of the journalistic masses, it looks like a midsize Miata, so sleeper!
That's a better power to weight ratio than the Lamborghini Revuelto I'm sure!
With only 1,000kg and 600hp this will be a favorite of the journalistic masses, it looks like a midsize Miata, so sleeper!
My problem is that it is too sleeperrrrrr, I don't perceive the size well but I see it similar in size and form to a Lotus Exige or something like that, for that much money I don't know...you have to be 100% purist and not want to "almost" poseThat's a better power to weight ratio than the Lamborghini Revuelto I'm sure!
The Gordon Murray T.33 Spider Lets You Hear That 11,100-RPM V-12 Even Better
Gordon Murray Automotive’s fourth car is an open-top. It promises to be just as good to drive as the T.33 coupe.
BY CHRIS PERKINS APR 4, 2023
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The Gordon Murray T.33 Spider Lets You Hear That 11,100-RPM V-12 Even Better
Gordon Murray Automotive’s fourth car is an open-top. It promises to be just as good to drive as the T.33 coupe.www.roadandtrack.com
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You can thank America for the Gordon Murray Automotive T.33 Spider. Unlike the center-steered T.50, GMA decided to fully homologate the T.33 for the U.S. market, at a cost of $35 million and counting. "As we promised never to do more than 100 of any model or variant, we would have to make more than one variant to make 33 viable," Murray tells Road & Track, "or charge £5 million a car, which is not viable anyway."
So, GMA decided to make three variants of T.33, in batches of 100. This is the second, the T.33 Spider. “It's pretty obvious if you look at the standard sort of format with supercars, the second one was going to be some sort of open car,” Murray says.
Dynamically, GMA wanted the T.33 Spider to perform as well as the coupe, so the company settled on a car with two removable carbon-fiber roof panels that could be stowed in the front trunk, a la a Porsche Carrera GT or 918 Spyder. Practicality should be better than those cars, as the T.33 Spider also has two pannier-type lockable luggage compartments on either side of the engine.
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The chassis of the T.33 coupe and Spider were conceived at the same time so that each would be as strong as the other. It’s built around Murray’s iStream Superlight technology, where an extruded aluminum tube frame runs the length of the car, to which carbon fiber panels are bonded to make up the passenger and engine compartments. Murray says there’s a bit more material in the rocker panels under the doors than in the coupe to help with rigidity, but also notes that GMA is targeting a weight increase of just under 40 pounds compared with the coupe. That translates to a targeted dry weight of 2443 pounds, which should be closer to 2600 pounds filled with fluids.
The T.33 Spider also makes the same amount of downforce as the coupe, most of which is generated underneath by diffusers behind each front wheel, and a large, stepped diffuser at the back. A deployable rear spoiler helps balance everything out, and Murray says the aerodynamic performance is basically the same roof on and roof off. The rear roll hoop supplies extra rigidity and, of course, safety. Above it is the RAM-air intake for the 4.0-liter V-12, which draws in air through four throttle bodies. With the roof open, Murray says the driver won’t be able to hear the exhaust over the sound of the combustion happening just behind them. There’s also a small glass wind deflector that can be dropped with the roof on, allowing more noise into the cabin.
While the bodywork is different from the A-pillar rearward, the rest of the T.33 Spider is much as it is in the coupe. The V-12 produces 607 hp at 10,500 rpm and goes on to an 11,100 rpm, figures that are shy of the GMA T.50, but by any other standard are incredible. The T.33 coupe is offered with a paddle-shift sequential transaxle, but most customers went for a six-speed manual, so the Spider is a manual-only affair. The transaxle is mounted transversely to keep the car’s length in check and to help concentrate weight towards the center of the car.
Suspension is by aluminum double-wishbones all around with coil-over passive dampers, and rear suspension attached directly to the transaxle, as in a race car. The T.33 also uses GMA’s novel electro-hydraulic power steering system with an electric pump that provides assistance at low speeds and disengages once moving. This delivers best of both worlds in terms of maneuverability and uncorrupted steering feel. Tires are off-the-shelf Michelin Pilot Sport 4S, because Murray wants replacements to be cheap and easy for owners. They measure 235/35R19 up front, and 295/30R20 in back, and naturally, brakes are carbon-ceramic.
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Murray doesn’t really consider himself a convertible guy, though he thinks this might be changing. He’s owned a series-1 Alfa Romeo Spider, an Austin-Healey “bugeye” Sprite, and a ‘57 Thunderbird for some time now, and he recently added a Lotus Elan Sprint drophead to his impressive classic-car fleet. “I haven't really been a spider person, and it's largely because in the back of my mind, I've subconsciously thought of them as cruisers, heavier, worse aerodynamics, worse torsional stiffness,” he says. “So, when we decided to do an open car, we got the team together and I said, ‘Listen, guys, this has got to be a serious motor car.’”
We have no reason to doubt him. At £1.89 million before taxes ($2.36 million at today's ecxhange rate), the T.33 Spider is a fair bit more than the £1.37 million before taxes (around $1.7 million). When we spoke to Murray last week, he said around half of the Spiders are already spoken for, so if you act fast, there’s a chance to get your name on the list."
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My problem is that it is too sleeperrrrrr, I don't perceive the size well but I see it similar in size and form to a Lotus Exige or something like that, for that much money I don't know...you have to be 100% purist and not want to "almost" pose
All 100 coupes and 100 spiders are already sold so that not a problem for the owners.
He already said it'll be a more track-focused variant with "stiffer" characteristics.Now I'm intrigued they going to make three variants of the T.33, the Spider is no. 2 what should we speculate no. 3 will be? A track only variant doesn't make sense with this car, maybe a 2+2 for the family man?
I think the track car is the T50 S.Now I'm intrigued they going to make three variants of the T.33, the Spider is no. 2 what should we speculate no. 3 will be? A track only variant doesn't make sense with this car, maybe a 2+2 for the family man?
Maybe it's just me, but I'm not enamoured by the sound of the Valkyrie, T.50 or AMG One.It must be sensational to drive with a rifle bolt manual gearchange and a melodious screaming 11000 rpm NA V12 in your ears with the wind rushing in your hair.
What didnt you like about the sound of those 3 cars? Are they too loud?Maybe it's just me, but I'm not enamoured by the sound of the Valkyrie, T.50 or AMG One.
From the cabin, at legal speeds, they don't appear to howl or wail but sound like the driver is redlining 1st gear.What didnt you like about the sound of those 3 cars? Are they too loud?
I think the track car is the T50 S.
Power 710PS and 890kg weight. 850PS/ton.
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The Italian influences are sympathetic and with a twist in the form of creases.What a beauty! The supercar/hypercar I like the most
There’s some Alfa 33 Periscopica influence in the air scoop. (And 33 stradale in the back, 33TT in the front)
Did he even start selling the T50 yet ?
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