Gordon Murray, father of the McLaren F1, has revealed the second member of his new supercar family: the T.33.
Just 100 will be built, priced at £1.37 million ($2.6 million) before taxes. Not cheap, then, but a bargain compared to the $4.3 million price slapped on the sold-out T.50 that came before it.
Although there’s a few threads linking the two GMA supercars, the T.33 has a look of its own. Where the T.50 had the same short nose, forward cab, and long rear deck as the McLaren F1 that inspired it, the T.33 has more a classic shape that calls classic racers like the Porsche 906 and Alfa Romeo Stradale 33 to mind.
There are two major changes which have allowed GMA to give the T.33 that classic silhouette. There are no ground effect fans on the rear, and the cabin has side-by-side seating for two instead of the staggered three-seat layout of the T.50.
Power still comes from a V12 engine developed by Cosworth, and it’s still sent to the rear wheels. It’s been reworked for duties in the T.33 though, with a slightly larger 4.0-litre displacement along with new camshafts, variable valve timing, and engine mapping.
It breathes through a new exhaust designed to deliver a “spine-tingling GMA signature sound unmatched by any other car on the road today”. Dubbed GMA.2, the engine features yellow cam covers to set it apart from the T.50 engine.
As for the numbers? The engine tips the scales at 178kg, and pumps out 452kW of power (at 10,500rpm) and 451Nm (at 9000rpm).
Redline is a stratospheric 11,100rpm, but GMA says 75 per cent of peak torque comes on tap at 2500rpm and 90 per cent is available between 4500 and 10,500rpm. In other words, you don’t need to be wringing its neck to get a move on.
Although a six-speed manual transmission is standard, the T.33 differentiates itself from the T.50 by offering a paddle shift option. Developed by motorsport specialists Xtrac, the two-pedal car – according to GMA – has the world’s fastest supercar gearshift.
Speaking with Carfection, Gordon Murray said just three of the 50 customers who’ve pre-ordered cars have opted for the paddles.
The T.33 has a carbon monocoque chassis and carbon body panels, connected to which is a bespoke suspension setup. There’s double wishbones front and rear, working in concert with coil springs and aluminium alloy dampers. Anti-roll bars have been fitted to the front, but not the rear.
Forged 19-inch front and 20-inch rear wheels are wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tyres. The wheels each weigh less than 7kg, while GMA says the decision to specify off-the-rack rubber makes the T.33 cheaper to maintain.
Measuring up at 4398mm long, 1850mm wide, and 1135mm tall, with a 2735mm wheelbase, the T.33 fits in a similar car space to a Porsche 718 Cayman – although it’s meaningfully lower to the ground and, with a 1090kg kerb weight, meaningfully lighter.
The cabin is simple in the extreme. There are no column stalks and no touchscreens, and the steering wheel is a slim-rimmed carbon fibre unit. You’ll also notice the central rev counter, which has been lifted from the T.50.
Unlike most low-volume supercars, the T.33 will be built with a choice of left- and right-hand drive.
“The beauty of simplicity is the key to the design of every GMA model, and the new T.33 is no exception,” said Gordon Murray.
“As with the T.50 and T.50s, each component and every curve and radius is a bespoke design on the T.33 and is there because it has a function to perform. Our slavish adherence to the concept of engineering art extends far beneath the surface of the T.33’s body.
“Every part, no matter how small and no matter that the owner may never see it, is designed to the same exacting standards as the body.”
