Gordon Murray Automotive has abandoned its plan to expand into the electric SUV marker in favour of building more V12 supercars, at least for now.
The iconic carmaker sold off its electric vehicle (EV) arm – Gordon Murray Technology – last year to investors based in Abu Dhabi, separating the supercar brand from its mass-market electric car operations.
Up until that point, the brand was reportedly developing two electric SUVs for the mainstream market.
While the restructure flew under the public radar at the time, GMA CEO Phillip Lee recently broke his silence on the strategic direction of the enterprise.
Gordon Murray Automotive T.33 Spider
“We won a contract in the Middle East to develop electric vehicles [ForSeven, led by former JLR engineer Nick Collins]. And that became huge very, very quickly and started to swap our focus,” Mr Lee told Autocar.
“It became quite clear that in order for us to keep our focus on supercars, [ForSeven] should take over the technology side and work on electric vehicles. It enabled us to be in charge of our own destiny.”
With the sole focus of GMA now on building supercars, the low-volume manufacturer’s next mission is to prolong the life of the V12 engine.
Consumer demand isn’t an issue – both the T.50 and T.33 are sold out until 2028.
While ever-tightening emissions legislation is set to put pressure on supercar manufacturers to downsize engines, Mr Lee has asserted that GMA will build twelve-cylinder cars for as long as possible, before transitioning to smaller, hybridised powertrains.
“I was always worried that we needed to protect the V12 where automotive is going,” said Mr Lee.
“What is now is proven in my head is that there is a big demand for V12 and that emotion in a supercar. You can see that from the fact we’re sold out now to 2028.
“I’m not completely sure that there is a place for electric supercars in the way that there is V12.”
Gordon Murray Automotive T.50
In the event that legislative forces do spell the end of the V12, GMA is determined to keep manufacturing internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles.
“What we’ll do is some clever way of keeping hybridization as opposed to [going] more conventional via a big battery or, you know, like a series or parallel hybridization,” added Mr Lee.
While GMA isn’t currently taking orders, a new variant of the T.33 is set to be unveiled next year.
Both the GMA T.33 and T.50 are powered by a Cosworth-developed 4.0-litre V12, producing 488kW of power and 467Nm of torque in the T.50 and 452kW/451Nm in the T.33.
The T.50 has an ear-piercing redline of 12,100rpm, while the T.33 is slightly more conservative, hitting the limiter at 11,100rpm. A do-it-yourself six-speed manual gearbox is standard in both cars.
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