Gordon Murray isn’t just working on a successor to
the iconic McLaren F1, but he is also developing a more affordable sports car
similar in philosophy to the Lotus Elise. Murray has been working on the
vehicle through his IMG car brand for quite some time and recently provided
Road & Track with some additional details about the car during an interview
at the Geneva Motor Show.
Murray’s entry-level sports car will use the iStream
Superlight platform that combines an aluminum tube frame with recycled carbon
fiber honeycomb chassis panels. This means that the sports car, currently
codenamed T.43, will be very light. In fact, Murray says it will weigh less
than 950 kg. The T.43 is also being designed to be small and will be
roughly 13 feet long and about 5.5 feet wide.
As for power, IMG will fit the sports car with a
Ford-sourced turbocharged three-cylinder pumping out 215 hp. That may not sound
like much but, according to Murray, the T.43’s lack of weight will give it a
power-to-weight ratio to rival the outgoing Porsche 911 Carrera S.
The T.43 will act as an alternative to the Alpine
A110 which, at 1049 kg, is a bit heavier. Pricing for the A110
starts at £ 47,000 (US$ 61,000) in the UK but Murray is targeting a base price for
the T.43 of less than £ 40,000 (US$ 52,000).
Unlike the company’s McLaren F1 spiritual successor,
which will only come to the United States on a Show & Display exemption,
Murray intends on selling the smaller sports car Stateside and says it will meet
all federal safety and emissions standards.
