MCMURTRY SPéIRLING PURE IS THE WORLD'S FIRST COMMERCIALLY-AVAILABLE FAN CAR - AND IT'S TRACK-ONLY.
At the last Goodwood Festival of Speed, the star of the show was undoubtedly the McMurtry Spéirling, the fully-electric fan car not only looks like something from the future, but it also smashed all speed and time records for the long-standing event and gained immediate worldwide fame. At the time it was a one-off car that was pretty much going through final testing in a real-world environment, and from the results we saw it looked to to be built and set up to perfection. After the event, a bunch of the world’s motoring press got to sample the car, and every single one was at a loss for words after feeling what the car can do. Besides the fact that the car is small and fully electric, which we know means it will be fast, it features a built-in fan that sucks the car to the floor which results in unbelievable traction. The car makes upwards of two tons of downforce at a standstill. The question on everyone’s mind (especially those with bank accounts that look like international phone numbers) was how to get one of these cars. Luckily for those people, McMurtry just announced that it will build a limited edition run of the car under the name of McMurtry Spéirling PURE. Just 100 will be up for grabs, and if all goes to plan they will be in private hands in 2025 after the pre-production prototypes are finished off and tested. While this fan car technology was first seen in the early 70s in Formula 1, the McMurtry Spéirling PURE will make history as the world’s first commercially-available fan car.
With the car’s diminutive dimensions, there’s not too much chance of it ever being legal for street use in any country, so it’s no surprise that the Spéirling PURE is for track use only. A scary thing is that the car has undergone a host of changes that have resulted in the car being even quicker and more stable than the version that wiped the floor with the competition at Goodwood FoS. The Spéirling PURE is focused on multi-lap runs on full race circuits with fast charge turnaround and it's eligible for the GT1 Sports Club hypercar series that’s part of the Fanatec GT World Challenge hosted at FIA circuits in Europe, Asia and America. Thomas Yates, Spéirling Automotive's founding director says: “The Spéirling PURE will herald a new era on the track. The sound, grip, acceleration, aesthetics and technology of this car are distinct. Witnessing the car as a spectator or from the cockpit offers a rare and exhilarating experience. With pre-orders from around the globe, I can’t wait for fan cars at the racetrack to become a new normality.” Spéirling development driver Max Chilton comments: “Proving the Spéirling’s advantage via the outright hillclimb record at Goodwood was a proud life achievement. Since then, it’s been rewarding to see what customers can achieve in the driving seat too. It’s hugely satisfying to be part of the company that is bringing this game-changing technology to driving enthusiasts”.
Changes to the car since Goodwood and all those mad YouTube videos include an all-new fan system with a 15 % increase in fan efficiency, a 14 % weight saving and significantly enhanced tolerance to flow variation, an updated skirt design that’s 15 % lighter, a new E-axle, a 0.5 % improvement in gearbox efficiency, a new battery with improved thermal management and lighter weight, a revised chassis saving 4 % of the overall weight, revised wheel arch and underbody aerodynamics, a new electrical architecture saving 35 % on wiring loom mass, wider 18-inch tyres that are 2 % lighter up front and 12 % at the rear, re-engineered suspension and bodywork, a revised pedal box that saves 17 % mass and has the addition of optional ABS, a 2.5 % reduction in brake system assembly mass and a lightened power steering unit saving 20% mass. It’s pegged to sell from £820 000 + taxes, or over R20 million.
Take a look at the YouTube video from the recent international launch of the first commercially-available fan car, and coincidentally one of the fastest EVs on the planet, the McMurtry Spéirling PURE. Launching it in Dubai was quite a clever idea considering how much money is floating around there, even though it is mostly from oil and this is an electric car. They must have filled up a few spots on the planned 100-unit production run: International Reveal - McMurtry Spéirling in Dubai - Launch Event | McMurtry Automotive
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