- McMurtry Spéirling drives upside down
- World first
- Electric hypercar has a fan that sucks it to the road
- ‘Downforce-on-Demand’ system generates 2000 kg of downforce
- Costs around £984,000
- Customer deliveries due 2026
A British electric hypercar has claimed a new world first after driving UPSIDE DOWN during a jaw-dropping test.
The McMurtry Speirling is an astonishing, £984,000, one-seat EV, the brainchild of Irish inventor and businessman Sir David McMurtry, who passed away late last year.
The Speirling (named after an Irish word for a thunderstorm) isn’t just a 1,000 bhp acceleration monster, it also boasts one particular party piece - the ‘Downforce-on-Demand’ system, which consists of a fan which literally sucks the car to the road or track.
McMurtry reckons the Speirling can generate a whopping 2,000 kg of downforce even when it’s at a standstill. And ever since the Speirling was unveiled in 2021, folks have all been asking the same question; ‘So, can it drive upside down?’
The answer is an affirmative ‘YES’, judging by the firm’s latest stunt, which took place at the firm’s headquarters in Gloucestershire.
Remember that scene from 1997’s blockbusting movie Men in Black, in which Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith beat the traffic by driving upside down on a tunnel’s ceiling? Imagine that, but in real life.
During the record attempt, Thomas Yates, Co-founder & Managing Director of McMurtry Automotive, drove the Speirling up a ramp and onto a purpose-built platform.
The floor of the platform then rotated, fully inverting the hypercar.
A company spokesperson adds: “The Downforce-on-Demand system created a sufficient vacuum underneath the hypercar’s floor to hold it upside down, exceeding the force of gravity. Once fully inverted, Thomas drove forward, entirely unsupported.”
The McMurtry Speirling’s patented fan tech doesn’t just let it drive inverted, it’s also capable of some properly break-neck speeds.
It’ll accelerate from 0-60mph in 1.5 seconds and complete a quarter mile in 8 seconds
The Speirling has also recently smashed the Top Gear Test Track record by 3.1 seconds (the previous record holder was a V10 Renault R24 Formula 1 racecar from 2004) and it also holds the Goodwood Festival of Speed Hillclimb outright record and the Laguna Seca Corkskrew Hillclimb record.
Thomas Yates, Co-founder & Managing Director of McMurtry Automotive, said: “This demonstration was an exciting proof of concept using a small purpose-built rig, but is perhaps just the beginning of what’s possible. With a longer inverted track or a suitable tunnel, we may be able to drive even further!”
A production Speirling is due to hit roads next year with a 100 kWh battery and near £1m price tag. Just 100 examples will be built. And McMurtry reckons a range of around 300 miles is possible if driven sensibly on the roads.
You can watch a video of the upside down stunt below
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