Gordon Murray's T.50 supercar stops by Jay Leno's garage

Gordon Murray was responsible for the legendary McLaren F1 supercar of the 1990s, and his latest creation, the T.50, will likely go down in history as Murray's next great car.

Jay Leno is one of the few owners of an F1, and in the latest episode of Jay Leno's Garage, he explores the T.50, which Murray himself says is the true successor to the F1. Common features include a center driving position, lightweight carbon fiber tubing, a high-revving V12 engine (up to 12,100 rpm), and a six-speed manual transmission. Both cars also have similar styling.

Dario Franchitti, a successful Indy racing driver, is currently an ambassador for Gordon Murray Automotive, the company behind the T.50, and was on hand to show Leno the T.50. The model was a prototype and Leno was not able to drive it, but no doubt the funnyman will soon add it to his collection. Franchitti was in charge of driving the car only because of his involvement in its development.

Production will begin in early 2023, with GMA planning to build just 100 cars and 25 of the more hardcore T.50s Niki Lauda version; GMA will then focus on a less extreme supercar known as the T.33. An open-top T.33 Spyder is also planned.

The T.50 features a large fan in the rear. This fan will be used to increase downforce without resorting to a huge wing or spoiler, which Murray does not favor. It works on the rear spoiler as well as the rear diffuser and has several modes that allow the driver to adjust the level of downforce.

The High Downforce mode increases downforce by 50%. The Braking mode adds downforce when braking and can reduce stopping distance from 150 mph by 98 feet. V-Max Boost also adds a Ram Air feature that raises the car's output to 690 hp from the standard 654 hp.

The T.50's fan concept differs from the fan car in the Brabham BT46B (designed by Murray), which Niki Lauda won the 1978 F1 Swedish Grand Prix. In Brabham, the fan functioned like a vacuum cleaner, sucking the car to the ground.

Like F1, the T.50 is all about the driving experience. The car weighs approximately 2,200 pounds, making it lighter than a Miata. Therefore, many parts do not need to be significantly heavier to handle the car's load. For example, the brakes are smaller for a supercar, and the tires are 235 mm wide at the front and 295 mm wide at the rear; to improve feel, the electric power steering is only activated at parking lot speeds, after which it turns off and becomes manual steering.

Gordon Murray is not the only successful F1 designer with a new supercar. Adrian Newey is designing an RB17 track car, which will be built and sold by Newey's former employer, Red Bull Racing, starting next year.

For more information, check out the video above and listen to the sound of the V12 engine.