On Sunday, McMurtry claimed two records at the WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca Reverse Corkscrew Hillclimb with its Spéirling track-only electric fan car (see video here). The event marked McMurtry’s on-track debut in the U.S., where existing and new customers will get to test drive prototypes during Monterey Car Week being held in California this week.

The first Laguna Seca record was for the longer layout used at previous events, the 28.6-s time beating the previous record set by a 1976 Lotus Type 77 Formula One Car at 34.69 s. The Spéirling also set a new record on the revised shorter layout introduced for 2024, with the 21.958-s time achieved in a top 3 shootout over second-place finisher a 1967 Ford Falcon race car at 29.004 s and the third place 2022 Ferrari SF90 at 29.822 s.

The new records feature the same car and driver combination that holds the outright record at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, with Max Chilton at the wheel for the two-day event as part of the Monterey Motorsports Pre-Reunion.

They follow McMurtry’s setting of a new track record by over 4 s at its “home circuit” at the Castle Combe Circuit, in Wiltshire, England, during private testing running at 80% power with a 155-mph speed limit with the Spéirling Pure VP1 (Validation Prototype 1) fan car driven by Max Chilton in April.

In June, the car later smashed the closed-wheel track record at Hockenheimring in Germany, running at 75% power and 75% downforce, with a lap time of 1:24:43 at a Dörr Group track day. Further record attempts will be made throughout the world in 2024 and 2025, as the test and validation program moves toward 100% power and 100% downforce settings.

During Monterey Car Week, McMurtry is using private customer test drives and public events like the Motorlux party at the Monterey Jet Centre; The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering; demo Laps on Laguna Seca full circuit, and L’Auberge Carmel to showcase its car.

For the driving demonstration at Laguna Seca during the Monterey Motorsports Reunion on Saturday, two cars will take to the track piloted by Thomas Yates, McMurtry’s Founding Managing Director, and experienced historic racer Philip Kadoorie to show that seemingly unattainable performance is accessible by normal driving enthusiasts.

Company exec ambitions are to make McMurtry one of the world’s most prestigious and long-standing automotive brands founded on motorsport innovation. They will champion small and lightweight British innovation and engineering design.

 

Lightweight with downforce-on-demand

The Spéirling Pure production track car is powered by a 1000-bhp (745-kW) twin-motor electric powertrain and offers selectable performance drive modes from GT3 to F1 and Indycar levels of pace. Ultimately, it will generate 4400 lb (2000 kg) of downforce from 0 mph using onboard fans for top dynamic performance.

At the 2023 Goodwood Festival of Speed of Validation Prototype VP1 public debut, McMurtry called the Spéirling Pure the first commercially available sealed skirt fan car, with 3-g cornering possible at accessible speeds enabled by the patented downforce-on-demand fan system.

“The Spéirling PURE will herald a new era on the track,” said Yates, at the launch. “The sound, grip, acceleration, aesthetics, and technology of this car are distinct.”

On race circuits, the downforce system gives drivers a step change in usable grip, delivering constant and approachable downforce regardless of speed that is not affected by yaw angle or wind direction. It offers the greatest benefit to drivers where most time is spent on track, in low- and medium-speed corners.

The car’s streamlined body shape is vital to optimizing energy consumption up to its 190-mph (305-km/h) top speed. The frontal area—said to be more akin to the classically proportioned 1960s Grand Prix racers, according to the company—is minimized by making the driver both the lowest and tallest point in the car, with the batteries occupying the space between the wheels and under the driver’s legs in a U shape. Slick tires, having 27/65-18 with 270-mm front and 30/68-18 with 300-mm rear section widths, fill the car’s wheel arches.

The 3.45 m (135 in) long, 1.02 m (40 in) tall, and 1.58 m (62 in) wide car weigh less than 1000 kg (2200 lb). Adjustable pedals and steering wheel accommodate drivers up to 6 ft, 7 in, (2.0 m) tall and with 150 kg (330 lb) weight.

 

Key partnerships on batteries and data

A customer car will perform 20 min of track running at GT3 pace before recharging again for 20 min using high-performance Molicel lithium-ion cells in a 60-kW·h battery pack.

“Molicel’s leading cell technology gives McMurtry vehicles a distinct performance advantage,” said Yates. “The combination of high power and high energy density is what sets them apart from the competition.”

Molicel showcased its next-generation ultra-high-power cells at CES 2024.

“We feel the urgency of introducing this new product at the beginning of 2024, not only for the premium sector but also embracing more mobility clients,” said Casey Shiue, President of Molicel. “Consumers nowadays are demanding better efficiency, fast charge convenience, and increased cycle life performance than ever. All mentioned desires can be offered by P50B.”

As a 5.0-A·h 21700 form factor lithium-ion cell, the INR-21700-P50B presents Molicel’s best power-to-energy ratio with their highest ever energy density of 260 W·h/kg (714 W·h/L), and “unbeatable” power of over 400 W for discharging. It was designed with an ultra-fast 5C C rate for fast charging.

In April, McMurtry announced a strategic collaboration with About: Energy to accurately model the behavior and characterize the performance of the P50B battery cell pack. This will enable McMurtry engineers to integrate About:Energy’s crucial data into the design and simulations of their battery packs to maximize efficient fast charging and increase cycle life performance.

“We’re working in parallel with McMurtry on the quickest and most in-depth battery knowledge transfer to date to accelerate the development process of McMurtry’s vehicles,” said Gavin White, CEO and Co-Founder of About:Energy. “Our aim is to eliminate the need for costly and time-consuming in-house battery testing by arming companies and their engineering teams with direct access to world-leading advanced battery intelligence, so they can build better batteries, and accelerate timelines by reducing reliance on physical testing.”

The goal of the collaboration is to empower McMurtry’s engineering team with enhanced data and virtual tools. This includes several workshops to support and familiarize engineers with the complex testing process and data outputs needed to optimize battery designs to push the limits of vehicle performance.

“Working with About:Energy feels like an extension to our in-house team,” said Kevin Ukoko-Rongione, Chief Engineer, at McMurtry Automotive. “Their engineers are proactive in supporting us to make the most of the battery data and insights obtained from their world-class testing facilities. The benefit to us is a quicker time to market, and the benefit to our customers will be a battery pack, which has both optimized performance and enhanced lifespan.”

 

The Spéirling Pure is available for ordering worldwide starting at £895,000 (about $1,142,000) plus taxes and delivery. Ownership inquiries can be made via www.mcmurtry.com/speirling-pure/. Final production will be limited to 100 units, with deliveries starting in 2025.