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Goodwood record

You know them: movies from the ’60s and ’70s with car chases that look weird and fake. Filmmakers used to play back footage a bit faster, so that it would seem as if cars in a thrilling chase scene were driving much faster than they actually were. We laugh a little at that these days, because it doesn’t look natural at all. Max Chilton’s record run at Goodwood in the McMurty Spéirling car that you can see below is not accelerated, but looks just as bizarre.

The McWie?

Chances are you’ve never heard of this all-electric vehicle. The McMurtry Spéirling is an experimental prototype, measuring only 3.20 meters long, 1.50 meters wide and 1.05 meters high. It weighs less than 1,000 pounds and features two 500-hp electric motors. So a fine power-to-weight ratio. There is only room for one person. Yesterday, it was former Formula One driver Max Chilton.  

Fan car

In the video below, you can see that the McMurty has so much grip during its run that it almost looks like it’s driving on rails. That’s because it features an electrically powered fan that sucks the car to the ground. You can know a similar system from the new Gordon Murray T.50. At the start, the car already has 2,000 kg of downforce, while still just standing still. In 1.5 seconds, he was already ticking 96 mph, and Chilton needed just 39.08 seconds for the entire hill climb. Almost a second less than the 2019 Volkswagen ID.R.