MCMURTRY AUTOMOTIVE: An Electric Symbol of What is Possible

In the midst of the global energy transition – as electric vehicles and alternate fuels power more of our life – there is a need for symbolism around what is possible. Not just from a technology and efficiency perspective but with imagination and ingenuity – at the top end of the spectrum, at the limit of what is possible.

Like in the fossil fuel powered world of the past, human curiosity has resulted in some of the most iconic and important developments of our time. From rockets that leave our world behind, to power plants that fuel nations, to vehicles faster than the speed of sound – it is critical that people open new horizons.

Since the world’s first electric vehicle was launched in the 1800s, the industry has been on an interesting journey vying for position, and even existence, as hydrocarbon-powered movement became the norm. From early 14 mph battery powered carriages through to the modern, fast-charging electric cars of today, much has been achieved. But a new era of invention is opening up as our understanding of technology advances quickly.

McMurtry Automotive, an niche British supercar maker, has been developing a wild idea since 2016. Displaying untamed ambition, and outrageous appetite for innovation, this is a business set to challenge what is realistic with beautiful cars for road and track, generating zero emissions, that go beyond what anyone ever thought possible from a car powered by batteries. 

McMurtry is based in Gloucestershire, on an engineering site home to some of motorsports most creative and mighty brains. Importantly, the company is backed by namesake Sir David McMurtry – a brilliant technology and engineering mind and former Deputy Chief Engineer for Rolls-Royce, developing the Olympus Concord engine.

THUNDERING TO FASTEST

The company’s crest is a Peregrine Falcon, the world’s fastest animal capable of moving at 242 mph while diving for prey, apt for a company chasing aerodynamic efficiency. McMurtry’s first car is called the Spéirling – Irish for thunderstorm. Clearly, something exciting is expected from within this electric vehicle visionary.

Director Thomas Yates tells Energy Focus that the heavy research and development that has gone into the McMurtry Spéirling is now showing signs of apotheosis.

“Our major focus is the development, delivery, and manufacture of the McMurtry Spéirling which will be a fully electric, road legal vehicle with utterly stunning performance, using previously forbidden technologies in a very nostalgic, historic form factor, the same size as a 1960s Grand Prix car. Bringing all of that fun and excitement to the road in a guilt-free, fully electronic form with ludicrous performance on the track – we are not building a luxury cruiser, it’s intended to be an electric track car that is road legal – that is our key project.”

Far from the plugin passenger cars that are becoming increasingly common today, this is a concept beyond the realms of what was previously thought possible. Small, fast, powerful, and nimble, the car is testing components to the absolute extreme end of their capability. After the idea for this ground-breaking vehicle was established in 2016, many iterative developments have taken place. Today, the Spéirling is a record breaker and the envy of the industry.

“We have a car that will do 0-60 in under 1.5 seconds, comfortably, with rear wheel drive only, on pretty much any tarmac. In an automotive space, where the key differentiation for electric vehicles is acceleration performance, that is a major achievement,” smiles Yates.

According to the company, the car combines torque advantage of electric powertrains with fan powered downforce to provide “never-before-seen pace through tight corners”. Handmade, each car is described as a masterpiece – visually it is artistic and provoking. Using fan-based downforce technology, there is instant suction, fuelling track domination. When a road car is produced in the coming years, the company expects it to be the ‘wildest electric car ever to wear number plates’.

At the famous Goodwood Festival of Speed – an automotive show and exhibition at Goodwood House in the south of England – the Spéirling tore up the record book, ripping through the famous 1860m hill climb track which rises 92.7m. With a time of 39.08 seconds, many were shocked that driver Max Chilton was able to deliver such performance in front of 150,000 spectators from a car unveiled the previous year as a demonstrator. Chilton himself, previously a Formula 1 driver, hinted that the car had more to offer. “I was shocked as a I fluffed a few corners,” he said.

For the delighted team, questions quickly began rolling in about the future of the company and its strategy going forward. Thomas Yates was clear that road cars will be a part of the long-term future.

“Over the next three years, we hope to continue to develop the McMurtry Spéirling to attempt to deliver different and exciting records, perhaps going back to do more exciting things at Goodwood in the future, but also to dig deep and heavily focus on the design and developments of the road legal car to get to testing and development so that we can ramp up towards high quality production,” he says.

ROAD LEGAL POWER

When it comes to production of road cars, the top end of the market is saturated with many of the world’s most prominent brands producing electric sports cars. But McMurtry is differentiating itself by focussing on single seaters; small cars, with big range, and powerful motors.

In electric vehicles, ensuring minimal compromises and not carrying redundant space is so important, according to Yates. “Aerodynamic efficiency is fundamental to range in EV,” he reminds. “If your efficiency is made worse by having two seats, then you need a bigger battery and that makes you heavier and you get into a vicious circle. We are focussed on delivering a car in a tiny package that will do more than 300 miles range, weighing well under a ton, with performance on a race track that is second to none.”

The technology used is hailed by industry commentators as game changing. The fan system that pulls the racing car downwards is a reimagination of technology from the 1970s which saw the Brabham BT46B win the Swedish Grand Prix before being banned. On the road, the fan system will be disengaged, but they will have the rear wing to achieve downforce and will likely keep the U-shaped battery mounting that sits around the driver’s feet and legs.

The battery technology used is remarkable and Yates is proud of the engineering that has gone into the end product. From a team of just 22, in a company just six years old, the achievements to date are nothing short of exceptional.

“When looking at high-performance vehicles, McMurtry Automotive has a remarkable technology that we have had to develop to deliver the car that we have shown. The previous fastest car to go up that hill ended up having to run a hillclimb-special very low-capacity, lightweight battery pack that was specific to just one run. The car that we ran at Goodwood was carrying a large capacity 60kWh battery pack, capable of multiple runs. It highlights quite how insane and amazing our technology is that we are able to deliver something to bold,” he says.

“When we talk about cars, we are one of the few vehicle manufacturers that is heavily focussed on single seaters. There are a few but they are few and far between, and we are probably the only one in the electric space. We are really focused on delivering the world’s most amazing cars that don’t carry around a redundant seat most of the time,” he adds.

INNOVATION PROTECTION

As a business, McMurtry – like its founder – continues to innovate and come up with not only new processes and applications for technology, but highly valuable intellectual property. When Sir David McMurtry invented the 3D touch-trigger probe to solve an industrial measurement problem, protection of his idea allowed him to grow Renishaw, a world leading organisation with 4000 people across 35 countries. Today, he is named on 47 patents at Rolls-Royce and 150 at Renishaw. Yates was quick to establish protection as the company’s ideas became obviously valuable.

“We have a great partnership with Mewburn Ellis who has been our intellectual property partner,” details Yates. “That has been such a core part of our business. We have looked at ways of building a really strong foundation for this business and a key cornerstone of that is a strong IP portfolio that gives us the freedom to capitalise on the inventions that we are developing without fear of being copied. This partnership was key to us being able to show our technology on the international stage – we would not have felt comfortable showing the downforce systems or the U-shaped battery pack if we had not had very good patent protection in place.”

David McMurtry and Yates have always placed originality at the heart of the business and, like the battery pack at the heart of the Spéirling, this powerful ethos has helped to develop growth avenues beyond just motorsport.

“Fundamentally as a business, what we are trying to achieve, is to be the global leader in manufacturing the world’s most amazing small vehicles,” confirms Yates. “Hopefully, we are someway on the road to achieving that. We have a very significant second string of business which is focussed around energy storage. The primary focus there is delivering battery solutions to customers who need batteries that are incredibly compact but high power and high energy density; so motorsport, high-end automotive, and other sectors where size and mass is really important.”

Here, the proof of execution within the Spéirling under severe strain is exactly what is required when explaining to potential clients what is possible. Complementing the deep knowledge within the company, McMurtry calls on a formidable supply chain to bring novel solutions to problems. Thankfully, some of the world’s foremost businesses are working with McMurtry to advance the concepts and ideas across all aspects of the company.

“Another strategic technical partner who helps us deliver an advantage is Molicel, a niche advanced cell supplier, who we are working with to explore the boundaries of cell technology.  Close relationships are key to developing at a fast pace in this sector; key staff from both Mewburn Ellis and Molicel were at Goodwood to further experience and learn from the project first hand, which compounds technical progress” adds Yates. Importantly, the procurement process is driven by engineers and is centred on quality over price.

“As a business, we try to empower our engineering team to do whatever they need to do to get the job done. The structure that we have operated up until now is one where engineers can find suppliers that they trust. They purchase, they have a relationship, and they do all the interaction. That means they cover a broad role. Naturally, that will transition as we move into larger production, but certainly from a R&D perspective, our engineers have managed the supply chain,” explains Yates, adding that the relationship across the supply chain is fantastic even in an industry where lead times are often very long.

“It is important, where you can, to have as few people in the chain as possible. Knowledgeable, technical buyers – having not designed the component – may not have the same view on the compromises made and what is really important. We are in a unique, lucky position right now where the people designing the parts can be the people that spend the money.”

NO EXCUSES

Currently, McMurtry is taking statements of interest online from potential customers, building a database of those that could possibly drive a road-legal version from their home, to work, and then onto a track. The road legal version will be loud too, avoiding the whining hum of other electric cars, instead living up to its name. Importantly, the focus on performance and quality will never cease.

“Christian von Koenigsegg said to me: ‘At this price point there are no excuses’ and he was absolutely right about that. The key thing for us is quality. Especially when you are in a R&D phase, and someone produces a part that doesn’t meet your requirements, that can really put you back,” says Yates.

And the price point, yet to be revealed, looks set to be just as exciting. Promising quality above all, Yates is excited: “Quality is guaranteed,” he states. “Looking forward to us producing road legal variants of the car, inherently, due to the extreme technologies and the extreme lengths that we have pushed everything to, the price point of the road legal car is certainly in the seven-figure category.”

Going forward, the company has much to be proud of but much work to do. As much as it has been a busy journey from 2016 to date, there is now the pressure of expectation as attention turns to production of a road legal car. The automotive world is desperate to see what McMurtry can do on a wider scale, and the energy sector is keen to see how the technology used in the car can be rolled out across new applications.

“We have not promoted the fact that we have a strong battery offering yet. It has organically grown from the recognition we get speaking to people through the automotive networks we meet. We can offer a performance benefit in terms of performance, mass, or volume on the battery pack side,” says Yates.

“The intention is to be global in terms of the product offering, but there are some markets that are easier to reach depending on which product we talk about. We are seeing a lot of interest in the vehicles from the US market. With batteries, there has been a lot of interest in the UK and Europe.”

The market for electric vehicles is significant and continues to surge. 6.4 million units were sold in 2021 alone, up 26% on the previous year – the fastest growing of any industry segment. The market will boom as part of the global energy transition, and even in motorsport attitudes are changing – just look at the popularity of Formula E.

“Reasonably clear direction from legislators, especially in the UK, has been helpful,” says Yates, formerly of Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains. “It is relatively consistent across the western world – there has been a strong push from legislators. The most profound thing in the UK has been the air quality drivers associated with cities. It makes it very inconvenient to drive an older combustion car into cities. Although the fundamentals of electric cars really help to facilitate dealing with climate change problems, the more aggressively strong driver is air quality. That has brought it heavily to the fore.”

To get people thinking about substantial uptake of electric vehicles, saving a significant chunk of CO₂ from entering our atmosphere, there must be enthusiasm and zeal from both business and the general public. Ambition like that displayed at McMurtry is a great symbol – smaller, faster, further, all electric.

“The McMurtry Spéirling is a good case study of something we have engineered entirely in house and manufactured to show the world what is possible. We are getting people excited and that is a good thing,” says Yates.

“We are going to steadily expand as a company. We are soon to go through a round of recruitment as we go through this exciting transition phase, taking the technologies and moving them into production,” he concludes.