The wait is over. McMurtry Spéirling is finally ready for real customers, and it’s ugly. Beautifully, functionally ugly. After nearly a decade of tuning this beast on track, the British startup says they’ve swapped 95 percent of the parts since those early prototype runs at Goodwood and Top Gear. They call it the Spéirling PURE. You can call it expensive. It starts around £995,00Before tax, before you even add the options we’re sure you’ll want.
It’s fast. Like, impossibly fast. The prototype clocked 39.08 seconds up the Goodwood hillclimb. That’s 2.5 seconds faster than a Formula 1 car driven by Nick Heidfeld. Eight seconds faster than a $9 million Koenigsegg Gemera. Don’t even start asking about road legal cars.
So why buy one? Because normal aerodynamics are boring.
Fans > Wings
McMurtry ditched the traditional wing reliance. Instead, they installed a pair of electric fans underneath the chassis. They spin up to 23,000 RPM. They suck air under the car, creating a vacuum effect.
The system generates up to **2000kg of downfrom a standstill.
Yes. A standstill. Conventional cars need speed to make downforce. This car is planted the second the ignition button is pressed. It corners at 3g. It brakes at 3g. You will throw yourself forward. The g-forces will try to separate your eyeballs from your sockets.
And it makes a sound. Not the roar of combustion, but a high-pitched, turbine-like scream. It sounds like a jet fighter idling in your living room. Some will hate it. Others will find it thrilling.
Under the Hood (Well, the Batteries)
Twin electric motors pump out 1000 horsepower. There’s no V8. There’s no turbo lag. There’s just instantaneous, violence. 0-62 mph happens in 1.55 seconds. Top speed caps at 305 km/h, but let’s be honest. You aren’t driving it fast. You are driving it hard. Cornering is the point.
The production model got a bigger battery. We’re talking 100kWh of Molicel cells, up from 60kWh in the prototype. More power means longer track runs and faster regen. McMurtrwon’t give a firm range number. They’ll tell you it can do 40 to 50 kilometers at LMP2 pace. That’s plenty. Most people won’t last ten minutes before their arms give out.
Easier to Abuse?
Earlier prototypes required an external air bottle for the skirts. They looked like sci-fi tanks. Ugly and impractical. The PURE fixes this. It has an onboard compressor. The skirt system stays self-contained. No hoses to trip over. No mechanics to scream at you about missing fittings.
The chassis changed too. The wheelbase grew by 200mm to accommodate the new battery layout. This gave the cabin a bit more room. Visibility improved. Doors are wider now. Getting in is less like entering a submarine and more like… well, still getting into a single-seat track car, but easier.
Is it simple to own? McMurtry insists so. Hydraulic power-assisted steering replaces the electric system from before. Wider Michelin slicks. Optional electronically adjustable dampers. You supposedly need only one assistant at track days.
“Significantly more usable, but no less outrages.” – Thomas Yates
Convenience is a marketing term when you’re talking about a machine that corners harder than an F1 car. But hey. They offer an optional portable 100kWh battery charger if your circuit lacks high-power infrastructure. Recharge from 20 to 80 percent in 20-60 minutes, depending on the charger. Not slow. Just enough.
The Details
Inside, you’re strapped into a seat moulded specifically to your body. The steering wheel is multifunctional. A central display tells you about battery temp, fan speeds, and data. If you lose the data, you likely lose your lunch.
Is it for You?
Production has started. The factory is in England’s Cotswolds. First cars deliver later this year. The public debut hits the Goodwood Festival of Speed in July. North America gets its look at The Quail in August.
Who buys this? Professionals? Wealthy weekend warriors with a death wish? Probably both. Yates claims it’s for all levels of driver. We suspect it’s for the ones with insurance waivers.
It’s not just fast. It’s distinct. In a sea of hypercar clones, it brings its own wind. Or rather, its own vacuum.
