The 'very British' GMA T.33 at Goodwood: a warm welcome for one of the last analogue supercars
David Green was at the 2022 Members Meeting to witness Gordon Murray reveal to the public his 'more affordable' offering
In a covid hit calendar quirk, we have had back to back Goodwood Members Meetings only six months apart. Great news for legendary car and racing car designer Gordon Murray, who took the opportunity at both events to launch two new supercars of his design.
Following the global dynamic debut last October of the screaming Gordon Murray Automotive T.50 supercar, with its high-revving naturally-aspirated three-seater V12 (an obvious natural successor to Murray’s amazing McLaren F1), the Members Meeting on April 9-10 2022 saw GMA show off its latest effort: the T.33.
More traditionally configured with two seats side-by-side, and without gullwing doors, the T.33 is cheaper than the T.50’s £2.4M price tag, but not cheap at £1.37 million. Mind you, the relative prices are a moot point given the T.50 is already sold out, but if you do want to order a T.33. don’t hang around; as with the T.50, only 100 will be built.
Murray was assisted with the unveiling by the Duke of Richmond, who pulled the covers off the T.33 in front of the Goodwood crowd. The pair have become firm friends since the designer attended the very first Festival of Speed at Goodwood House nearly 30 years ago.
20 years of Clarkson: the first ever Goodwood Festival of Speed (1993)
Flanked by a T.50 and a T.50S Niki Lauda track variant, the ‘junior’ member of the gang looked immediately at home as the second model in GMAs fledgling supercar lineup.
The anglophile South African car designer is happy that he has created what he calls a “very British” car. Major components are made in the UK and 90% of the car is produced in the UK.
The T.33 features a new chassis, new suspension, new gearbox… but everyone can relax and breathe a sigh of relief that the T.33 will not be some new-fangled hybrid; it will also house the staggering Cosworth V12 as seen in the T.50, albeit retuned with more day to day usability and a meagre 11,100 rpm redline and ‘only’ 607 bhp. It’s also heavier than the T.50, but not exactly a porker, coming in at under 1100kgs.
Gordon Murray Automotive unveils new V12-powered T.33 supercar
The engine can be mated to a manual gearbox or… wait for it… a paddle-shift auto’ box. This may surprise some people as Murray is clinging by his fingernails to “analogue” cars, but this one concession could broaden the appeal of the his creations beyond those who only want a gear lever.
Besides, the Xtrac transmission it will use promises to come with one of the quickest, most seamless shifts on the market, and the thought of cycling up through the gears at over 10,000 rpm at the flick of a paddle is very appealing.
The T.33 is a pure, unfussy, design reminiscent of the ’60s with no protruding vanes or spoilers.
As always with Murray’s cars, the packaging is impressive. He likes to compare the size or footprint of his cars with others on the market. With the T-50, he likened the size to a Porsche Boxster, with the T.33, he makes the comparison with the new Lotus Emira, which is particularly impressive given that his similarly sized car packs a monstrous V12 and 280 litres of storage space.
There is the front storage area under the bonnet that most supercars feature, but additional space is found on the rear sides in body panels that open out like suicide doors.
A lot of people predicted that the T.50 would be the last anologue supercar, yet Murray has other ideas and it seems the T.33 will not claim that title either as he plans for two other, as yet unspecified, variants, but expect a track version and possibly a convertible.
Beyond that, he has plans to utilise this Cosworth V12 – arguably the apex of internal combustion engines – for as long as possible until the emissions police spoil the party. For many, his quest to seek driving perfection before the lights are finally turned out on that power source is a noble one.
Related articles
- If you were interested in this story about the Gordon Murray Automotive T.33 supercar launch at Goodwood Members Meeting 2022, take a look at the GMA T.50 at its Goodwood dynamic launch last October
- And don’t miss this video of the T.50’s Cosworth V12 engine revving to 12,100rpm
- Take a look at Goodwood Revival 2021 in pictures, including the celebrities, cars and outfits of the world’s greatest historic racing festival
