The McMurtry Speirling Has So Much Grip, It Makes This Spin Look Planned

The McMurtry Speirling is the definition of tiny but mighty. The bite-sized electric fan car isn’t much bigger than the driver in its single-seat cockpit; it also weighs just 2,646 pounds and makes 1,000 horsepower from its rear-mounted electric motor. But the main trick up its sleeve isn’t its absurd power-to-weight ratio—it’s the fan. Like the Gordon Murray-designed Brabham BT46, the Speirling uses two big fans to suck the air out from underneath it. They create an astonishing 4,400 pounds of downforce from a standstill, to go with the car’s aggressive fixed aero. And that combination helped save the Speirling during a high-speed spin at Laguna Seca during Monterey Car Week.

Laguna Seca is a very different beast from the sort of courses the Speirling is used to slaying. Since the Speirling is so tiny, and electric, it’s typically tasked with decimating track records at smaller, shorter tracks like Castle Combe and the hill at Goodwood. But Laguna Seca is bigger in every respect, so the Speirling looks like an insect compared to other cars. That size was helpful when the second of two Speirlings spun while coming out of Turn 3. Even after a full 360-degree spin, the little McMurtry still only took up half the width of the track. It was never in any danger of leaving the tarmac.

It doesn’t spin far, either. In the short clip, it looks like its aggressive aero and suction cup-like fans keep things from getting out of hand. The driver even managed to stop it pointing exactly straight, so they could set off again with minimal embarrassment. It was an impressive showing, both for the vehicle and its pilot.

However, the Speirling’s spin isn’t the most exciting thing that happened for McMurtry at Laguna Seca. The car didn’t break just one track record, it broke two. First, it claimed the fastest time for the new, shorter reverse hillclimb route in which competitors get a rolling start going opposite Laguna’s normal direction before ending at the top of the famous Corkscrew. The Speirling was able to complete that stretch in 21.958 seconds with former F1 driver Max Chilton behind the wheel. A 1,000 horsepower Ferrari SF90 was brought along as a measuring stick, and it could muster only a 29.82-second result.

Then, just for good measure, the Speirling toppled the old hillclimb route record of 34.69 seconds set in a Lotus Type 77 by about six seconds. Not surprising given the almost 50-year age gap between the two cars; actually, that stands as a damn good time for the Lotus. As with many carmakers in Monterey last week, McMurtry was showing off the Speirling’s capabilities to attract customers. If you want a single-seat electric track car that can crush records and even save your ass in a spin, you’ll need to shell out $1.142 million.

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