McMurtry Speirling was the breakout star at this year's Goodwood Festival of Speed. It arrived there as a vehicle many people had never heard of and left as the quickest car ever on the course's hill climb by clocking a time of 39.08 seconds. Since then, the team, including Formula One driver Max Chilton, has been continuing the development of a production version. CarWow got the chance to drive the prototype.
The video embedded below skips right to when CarWow actually drives the Speirling. If you want the full tour, check out the earlier portion of the clip.
The initial runs are on a damp track, but the Speirling is still capable of amazing acceleration. This one still has the gearing from the Goodwood runs, so it maxes out at 150 miles per hour (241 kilometers per hour).
Later, there's an opportunity to take the car to the freshly dried Silverstone circuit. On the second run, CarWow clocks an astonishing 0-60 mph (96 kph) time of 1.4 seconds and reaches 100 mph (161 kph) in just 2.63 seconds.
The most impressive figure is covering 1,312 feet (400 meters) in 7.97 seconds. For reference, a quarter-mile is 1,320 feet.
The Speirling features two electric motors driving the rear wheels. A dial on the steering wheel lets the driver tweak the output, but the maximum is 1,000 horsepower (746 kilowatts). A 60-kilowatt-hour battery pack provides a WTLP range estimate of 300 miles (261 kilometers). At somewhat less than full power, a driver can turn laps on par with a GT4 class car for about 20 minutes. It supports DC fast charging at over 200 kW.
In addition to ample power, the Speirling has a pair of fans that suck it to the ground with 4,409 pounds (2,000 kilograms) of downforce. This setup means there's traction available even through low-speed corners. The gases exit through little flaps at the back.
The production-spec Speirling will reportedly cost at least £1 million ($1.2 million at current exchange rates).
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