Yahoo Autos The T.33 Will Be Gordon Murray's Last Non-Hybrid Car
Today marks the debut of the T.33, another purist's supercar from Gordon Murray Automotive. In making lightweight cars with high-revving naturally aspirated V-12s and manual transmissions, GMA seems to exist, in part, to buck auto industry trends. But, the company is not immune to the challenges all automakers face.
In an interview with Road & Track, Murray reveals that the T.33 would "unfortunately" be the last non-hybrid GMA product. The hybrid carbon-fiber and aluminum architecture underpinning the T.33 has been designed with the flexibility to accommodate hybrid, and eventually, full-electric drivetrains. "We're trying to develop an architecture, that sets us on the road for the future," Murray says. "Something light, stiff and easy to control dimensionally." This is in contrast with GMA's first car, the T.50, which has a unique all-carbon chassis.
Murray doesn't go into further detail on future products, but he does say that GMA is committed to using its Cosworth V-12 for the foreseeable future. The V-12 represents a huge investment, and having driven prototypes, Murray believes it is the greatest road-car engine yet made.
"We can hold onto the N/A V-12 much longer than anybody else, because our product cycle time is only about 36 months," he says. "We're not under the pressures the major OEMs, or even the bigger supercar companies, to start introducing hybrids early enough or full EVs early enough."
Both the GMA T.33 and T.50 use a 48-volt starter-generator to replace the traditional belt-driven starter, alternator, and A/C compressor, and to drive the downforce-generating rear fan on the T.50. Some larger automakers that use similar 48-volt devices call cars so equipped "mild hybrids," though GMA does not.
It will be some time before a GMA hybrid will reach production. The company says deliveries of the T.33 will begin in early 2024, and by implication, that seems to mean the next GMA product won't arrive until 2025 at the earliest.
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