The British built
McMurtry Spéirling electric fan car claimed two records and maintained its 100% win rate in competition at the ‘Laguna Seca Reverse Corkscrew Hillclimb’ earlier this month, held in the USA. It is the same hyper-track car and driver combination which holds the outright record at the
Goodwood Festival of Speed. Max Chilton, former Formula One and Indycar driver, was at the wheel for the two-day event as part of the Monterey Motorsports Pre-reunion.
This event was also McMurtry Automotive’s US dynamic debut, a country home to a number of existing McMurtry customers who were looking forward to test driving the prototypes that the team brought to the event. The first Hillclimb record beaten by McMurtry was the longer layout used at previous events. Max Chilton and the McMurtry Spéirling achieved 28.6sec compared to the previous record set by a 1976 Lotus Type 77 Formula One Car at 34.69s. The 6sec advantage was achieved using the unique McMurtry fan downforce system to enhance grip coupled with the instant torque of the 1,000bhp electric powertrain.
Legendary Corkscrew cornerThe McMurtry Spéirling also set a new record on the revised shorter layout, introduced for 2024. A 21.958sec was achieved in the top three shootout, where timing strips were installed to record the rapid ascents from many competitors. Second place finisher was a 1967 Ford Falcon race car with a 29.004s and third place was a 2022 Ferrari SF90 with a 29.822. The Reverse Corkscrew Hillclimb uses the legendary Corkscrew corner plus turns 11, 10 and 9, driven the wrong way to normal racing. The Laguna Hillclimb was inspired by the spectacle and variety of entrants at the
Goodwood Festival of Speed and was started three years ago.
The McMurtry Spéirling generates 4,400 pounds of downforce from 0mph, using onboard fans, to give outstanding dynamic performance. Using advance P50B battery cells from Molicel, the customer version of the cars will perform 20mins of track running at GT3 pace before recharging again in 20min.
Mr Chilton said “The Corkscrew is one of the most famous corners in the world. Normally it is a blind approach on entry, so in the reverse hillclimb it is unsighted on the exit. You have to shoot up the 18m elevation change and then hope you have picked the right line as you launch over the top. Luckily I had fan downforce to help keep me stuck to the ground. It has been a special experience to compete in and set a record in the Laguna Seca Hillclimb.”
The McMurtry Spéirling is the basis for an even more capable track car, which is now available to order - the McMurtry Spéirling PURE which utilises the same unique downforce-on-demand system to provide exceptional downforce and grip right from 0mph. The 1,000bhp electric powertrain offers selectable performance drive modes from GT3 to F1 and Indycar levels pace.
Thomas Yates, McMurtry Automotive’s managing director, said: “The Reverse Corkscrew Hillclimb has been such an enjoyable way to showcase the cars in motion for the first time on US soil. The level of excitement from everyone here at Laguna Seca has made it very memorable. You will be seeing plenty more of McMurtry in the USA over the coming years.”