This electric race car can drive upside down and can be yours for a cool $1.3m
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- McMurtry unveiled the production Speirling electric hypercar at £995k (~$1.3m / ~€1.15m), limited to 100 units built at the company's Cotswolds factory, with deliveries beginning later this year.
- The Speirling uses underbody fans to generate 2,000kg of downforce at 0mph — enough force to drive the car upside down — sidestepping the tire-traction ceiling that bottlenecks today's highest-power EVs.
- Production specs include 1,000hp, a 0-60mph time of 1.55 seconds, a 190mph top speed, a 100kWh battery, dual-motor rear-wheel drive, and a 1,350kg curb weight (up from the 1,050kg prototype after 95% of components were redesigned).
- The Speirling prototype set outright track records at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in 2022, at the Top Gear Test Track (beating a 20-year-old F1 mark by 3 seconds), and at Laguna Seca (winning by 6 seconds without a full effort).
- The fan-car concept dates to the 1970s, when it was banned from motorsport after proving too effective; Tesla has patented a similar downforce system, possibly for the next Roadster.
- Track range is roughly 40-50km at LMP2 pace, with a 20-95% recharge taking 20-60 minutes, and buyers gain access to driver training and track support through the McMurtry Owners Club.
Why it matters: Only 100 buyers will get the £995k Speirling, but the fan-car downforce system — banned in 1970s racing and now patented by Tesla for the next Roadster — addresses the traction ceiling that caps even the most powerful EVs. The 1,000hp, 1,350kg package delivers 0-60 in 1.55 seconds and, thanks to 2,000kg of fan-generated downforce, can drive upside down.
