CAlexio

One immediately apparent reason is that it's a pejorative nomenclature. Possibly also copyright infringement.

But also, T50 has deep significance for Gordon Murray, and as this is truly his baby, and the crowning achievement of 50 year career.

ekam

g00dparsh

Its insane for sure, but this type of car is becoming increasingly hard to make at all, which is what makes it special. Fully bespoke components are expensive, especially things like 12k RPM V12s that conform to global emissions standards and are daily-driver use-able and reliable (as Gordon has said the car is aimed to be). All of that unbelievably ****-retentive Gordon Murray-managed legendary R&D cost has to be recouped in one very short production run of vehicles. When you consider that even a manufacturer like Porsche cannot really develop a new high-performance engine without spreading the R&D costs over multiple models AND model years of 100k+ vehicles, the price/cost makes more sense.

Its pretty clear that Gordon spared absolutely zero expense in designing what he and his team believed to be the ultimate road-going drivers car.

WenigerAberBeser

throw enough money at something and anything is possible, as we’ve seen with the T50. It’s an incredible machine but also pointless at the same time since only 100 extremely wealthy people will have one and there will be no trickle down effect on more affordable cars. A car that is a tenth of the price but 90% of the same ethos is much more appealing and relevant...

CAlexio

To whom? It's just a wealth and purchasing ability perspective you speak from.. pinnacle machines are very relevant to those who can afford them.

WenigerAberBeser

umm yeah.. that’s my perspective. We are on a thread to discuss perspectives right?

CAlexio

No, just facts allowed here.

I'm kidding, don't misinterpret. What I mean is that the T50 may not be relevant to you or me, but pinnacle products even without trickle down, definitely have relevance to those who can afford them. Whether that is to explore the pinnacle of engineering, or to show off, doesn't matter, but they are certainly relevant.. else they wouldn't sell would they?

A lower tier version of the T50 would indeed be more relevant to more of us, and maybe that is where something like the SCG 004s fits... for relatively less wealthy or demanding customers than those who would only add a t50 to their collection.

That's all.

WenigerAberBeser

oh absolutely. And who knows, maybe porsche and others will take lightweight more seriously after seeing this car’s popularity.. making it more relevant to mortals like myself. Wishful thinking

g00dparsh

I'm slightly obsessed with Gordon Murray's designs, so I've listened to a lot of his press about the T50. It seems like he was most enjoying the fact that the car had no need to exist at all, so it could be anything he and his team wanted. He wasn't concerned about it being marketable, relevant, competitive on a racetrack, or anything other than a legendarily pornographic driving experience. His team hasn't released acceleration or top speed figures for the car because he actually said they are not relevant. The car is his legacy, not just a car.

Will it be 1,000 times more fun than a competitively priced used 981? Probably not, but if I had the money I would certainly buy a T50.

skl

Can't believe this thing only weighs a 100lb more than my 914- best part of the various press release videos are the clips of him thrashing the F1 from nearly 30 years ago...

various cheeses

He has one thing right: the automotive industry is about to hit an apex and turn sharply. It's going to be increasingly difficult or prohibitively expensive to find naturally aspirated engines, manual transmissions, and lightweight sports cars that fit into bull**** global emissions and safety regs. I'd take something like this over any other supercar out there... if my income was 100x higher.

ekam

It's similar in weight to an Alfa Romeo 4C which also uses a carbon tub.

TheBucketOfTruth

I'm surprised so many people are talking negatively about this car. What's not to like? Aside from maybe it not being the most beautiful car on the road. Just because it's expensive? I thought his point about it being better than the F1 in every way and a fraction of the price was justification enough. Watching one of the 40 min vids on it from Carfection I was utterly in love with the ethos and idea of the car. I mean come on what's not to like? Center seat, 12k rpm n/a V12. Manual. 2000 lbs. Of course it's expensive.

As for no trickle down effect, I believe he intends to make a T43 with a 3 cylinder Ford Ecoboost 1.5 liter motor and weighing in a little over 1800 lbs. Hopefully that is still the case because the news on it is older. And the price goal was under $53k at the time. I'd honestly rush out to test drive one if something like that came out today. Hopefully they still have it in the pipeline for sometime after they finish with the halo car.
https://www.autoblog.com/2019/03/12/...hree-cylinder/