The British-built McMurtry Speirling has become the first car in the world to drive upside down.
No, this is not a belated April Fool’s Day joke, but a genuine achievement by the electric hypercar, which memorably broke the Goodwood Hillclimb record in 2022.
Using a special rotating rig, the McMurtry Speirling was able to drive a small distance while fully inverted.
To add to the pressure, the demonstration took place at McMurty’s Gloucestershire headquarters, in front of an audience of employees and independent adjudicators.
Flipping the script
A bespoke ‘downforce-on-demand’ system allows the Speirling to drive upside down. This uses high-powered fans to create a vacuum beneath the floor of the electric hypercar, essentially sucking it to the ground.
Using a fan system allows the McMurtry to generate downforce at any speed – unlike most supercars, which rely on aerodynamics to create downward pressure as they go faster.
Most importantly, the McMurtry Speirling produces more downforce when stationary than the car itself actually weighs.
This allowed Thomas Yates, co-founder and managing director of McMurtry Automotive, to drive it onto a rotating platform, then be flipped over 180 degrees. While upside down, Yates then carefully crept forward.
‘A surreal experience’
After the event, Yates said: “That was just a fantastic day in the office! Strapping in and driving inverted was a completely surreal experience. The 2,000kg of downforce that the fan system can generate is truly astonishing to experience and it’s great to show the reason why our Speirling continues to take records around the world.
“This demonstration was an exciting proof of concept using a small purpose-built rig, but is perhaps just the beginning of what’s possible. With a longer inverted track or a suitable tunnel, we may be able to drive even further! Huge congratulations and thanks to the entire McMurtry Automotive team, especially the engineers involved in the car and fan system’s design, they are the heroes of today.”
The McMurtry Speirling is currently on a record-breaking roll, having recently achieved the fastest time around the Top Gear test track.
Customer deliveries of the McMurtry Speirling are expected to begin in 2026. A total of 100 examples of the £984,000 hypercar are planned for production.
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