Gordon Murray's new supercar

Autocar has learned that Gordon Murray’s design company wants to build a lightweight supercar using the revolutionary chassis and body construction methods behind its radical T25 city car.Murray, whose design credits include the McLaren F1, says that he wants his next supercar to be compact, lightweight and powered by a high-output, small-capacity engine, combining strong performance with low CO2 emissions. The car will be closer in conception to the motorbike-engined Rocket that Murray created in the mid-1990s rather than the extravagant F1. If it gets the go-ahead, the supercar will use the same manufacturing system that is being developed for the city car. This uses a very rigid frame, offering maximum crash protection despite the car’s small dimensions, clad in recycled plastic panels. Murray won’t say what the frame will be made of yet, but we know that it’s not conventional pressed steel. The supercar project is still at a very early stage, to the extent that no decision has yet been taken as to whether it will be front-, mid- or rear-engined. Gordon Murray Design and its two investors - supplier group Caparo and US venture capitalist Mohr Davidow -could put the supercar into production themselves, something they’ve pledged not to do with the city car. “We wouldn’t necessarily sell on the supercar for someone else to make,” Murray told Autocar.