Tiny electric car goes faster than F1 at Goodwood Festival of speed

An outlandish machine likened to a baby Batmobile stunned crowds at Britain’s Goodwood Festival of Speed, breaking a decades-old record.

Max Chilton set a new hill climb record in the McMurtry Speirling.

If you ever need to outsprint a Formula 1 car, you need a McMurtry Speirling.

The tiny car from an equally minuscule manufacturer shattered expectations by breaking a 23-year-old racing record set at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

The tiny Speirling hits 100km/h in 1.5 seconds, and has a top speed of about 250km/h.

Former F1 and Indy Car driver Max Chilton set a new benchmark at the famous event’s hill climb shootout, nailing a 39.08 second run that established new records.

Chilton made full use of the McMurtry’s secret weapon – fan assisted downforce – to set the record.

McMurtry plans to offer cars to the public in the near future.

Racing cars normally use aerodynamic wings and cleverly sculpted floors to produce downforce that pushes cars into the ground, allowing them to attack corners with more grip than gravity allows.

The electric McMurtry takes a different approach, using powerful fans to suck itself onto the ground. This provides a shocking two tonnes of downforce at rest – and even more with speed.

The compact single seater wowed crowds at Goodwood.

Fan-assisted downforce is outlawed in most racing classes, including Formula 1. But the anything-goes nature of Goodwood allowed the boutique manufacturer to try something bold. Chilton told reporters he needed time to understand the tiny car’s unique handling characteristics before maximising its potential on race day.

Lotus showed off its Emira to the public at the 2022 Goodwood Festival of Speed.

The Speirling’s compact dimensions give it an advantage over larger cars – and a wider margin for error on Goodwood’s narrow track.

McMurtry has not revealed how much power the car makes, only that it has a one-to-one horsepower to kilogram ratio and weighs less than a tonne.

That suggests it has about 700kW of instant electric thrust, enabling the car to reach 100km/h in about 1.5 seconds.

BMW celebrated its heritage with a spectacular display.

Porsche finished second in the hill climb with an electric race car loosely based on its Cayman GT4.

Many manufacturers showed new models at the event, which has become one of the world’s most significant motor shows.

Car lovers saw the Mercedes-AMG ONE in action for the first time.

Important debuts included the first running displays of the F1-powered Mercedes-AMG One, a dynamic showing for the new Lotus Emira, and the global reveal of BMW’s M3 Touring.

The official hill climb record was previously held by F1 driver Nick Heidfeld, who recorded a 41.6 second sprint at the wheel of a McLaren MP4/13 in 1999.

Fan assisted downforce is the secret to McMurtry’s speed.

Pikes Peak champion Romain Dumas formerly held the unofficial practice record with a 39.9s sprint in an electric Volkswagen I.D.R.

Originally published as Tiny electric car goes faster than F1 at Goodwood Festival of speed