At first glance, it looks like a Batmobile. But within its handy frame, it packs plenty of power and performance. We are talking about the British company McMurtry Automotive electric fan car Spéirling, which will be seen in action at Goodwood Festival of Speed next week, and it wants to smash the hillclimb record. The car is aiming to beat outright the existing record of Volkswagen ID-R, which had blazed the 1.16-mile course in scarcely believable 39.9 seconds in 2019.
McMurtry Spéirling, which debuted at the same event last year, has added plenty of muscle, in a manner of speaking, since then, and looks primed for the event to be held from June 23 to 26.
For the record, the last time a fan car competed in motorsport was when Niki Lauda won the Swedish F1 GP in 1978 with the Brabham BT46B, it was subsequently withdrawn from future races due to its projected dominance to maintain harmony with other teams in the world championship.
McMurtry Spéirling is a speed fiend
McMurtry Spéirling, which can rev up 0-60mph in under 1.5 seconds, has been upgraded in term's of aerodynamic performance to deliver 2000kg of instant downforce (available from 0 mph) --- This is more downforce than an F1 car up to 150mph. The car’s powerful electric motors are backed by a 60kWh battery pack using cutting edge Molicel cells, and at under 1,000kg its acceleration figures are remarkable. It can reach a top speed of 150mph, which is capped due to hillclimb gearbox selection. The battery's impressive energy density contributes to over 30 mins of track running range.
The Spéirling’s strength is its fan-powered downforce producing more than double its own weight in downforce which, unlike conventional vehicles, is available at all speeds as it does not rely on airflow over the car. The instant downforce allows the instant torque from the drive motors to be fully deployed. By the way, a fan car has twin fans evacuating air from under it.
The car's other details include: twin motors, rear wheel drive, under 1000kg vehicle weight, Carbon fibre monocoque, single seat, and closed cockpit layout.
New era of electric track capability
Formula 1, Le Mans and IndyCar driver Max Chilton and British hillclimb championship leader Alex Summers will be the ones driving the McMurtry Spéirling.
McMurtry, in a statement, said, the secret to the performance of the Spéirling is its ‘clean sheet’ design. "Sir David (McMurtry) tasked the team with reimagining what a car should look like in the 21st century, starting from first principles rather than following the standard process of evolving what had come before. The result is a fully-electric, compact vehicle designed around the twin goals of driver engagement and vehicle performance."
The purpose of the Spéirling is to herald a new era of electric track capability, hasten wider EV development and showcase McMurtry Automotive as EV innovators for road and track cars, it added.
