Don’t let its toy Batmobile proportions fool you; the McMurtry Spéirling is one of the most extreme vehicles ever built. McMurtry Automotive unveiled the production version of its 2,980-pound electric hypercar on Thursday, with 4,400 pounds of downforce available at the push of a button. And the awe-inspiring Spéirling PURE can be yours for the low, low price of $1.3 million. That’s a steep price, but remember, this hill-climb monster can literally drive upside-down.
McMurtry Automotive
Racing prototypes aren’t inherently comfortable to drive, so McMurtry had to make significant changes to the Spéirling to appeal to its potential millionaire buyers. The car is 11% longer, 14% wider, and has a 10% longer wheelbase. The larger dimensions were to accommodate a large battery and a larger cabin. Spéirling is now fitted with a 100 kWh battery, replacing the prototype’s 60 kWh energy store. Like a team would do with a professional racing driver, the manufacturer will also produce a bespoke seat molded to the owner’s body. Thomas Yates, McMurtry’s co-founder and managing director, noted:
“Feedback from our earliest Spéirling PURE deposit holders has been instrumental in shaping our final customer offering. They recognized our vision, and their input has helped us turn a record-breaking prototype into an extraordinary and highly usable track car that people can own and enjoy. This final form is not just the result of our engineering ambition, but also the result of listening intently to the people who are going to drive it.”
The Spéirling is the ultimate track day special
The unique selling point of the Spéirling has always been its fan-based downforce system that sucks the car to the road even at a standstill. McMurtry’s Downforce-on-Demand system features two fans that can spin up to 23,000 rpm, creating a skirt-sealed vacuum underneath the hypercar. The Spéirling can pull 3g while cornering and under braking. The spinning blades sound like an airliner’s turbofan jet engine, so McMurtry fitted a fan rev paddle to the steering wheel as a nice party trick.
The absurd level of downforce paired with 1,000 horsepower from two electric motors has already enabled the Spéirling prototype to shatter records, seemingly wherever it goes. Former F1 driver Max Chilton broke the Goodwood hill climb record in 2022, then the Laguna Seca Corkscrew hill climb record in 2024. The technological concept was initially conceived in 1970 for the Chaparral 2J, then briefly found its way to Formula 1 with the Brabham BT46B in 1978, before being swiftly banned. Now, the Spéirling could conquer time-attack championships worldwide.
McMurtry also made several changes to make the Spéirling more livable as the ultimate track-day special. The fan and side-skirts were designed to be more durable. The skirts can be independently raised to make loading and unloading from a trailer easier. The hypercar’s battery can be charged from 20% to 95% in just 20 minutes under ideal ambient conditions and optimal charger power. Range-anxious owners can also purchase a portable 100 kWh battery as an option. If you’re spending $1.3 million on a time-attack monster, you don’t want to run out of power.
