Every so often, a car appears that reminds you the lunatics are still running the asylum in the best possible way. The Gordon Murray Automotive T.50s Niki Lauda is exactly that sort of machine. During final testing at the Bahrain International Circuit, the track-only hypercar turned up, stretched its legs, and casually demolished a lap record that had been sitting comfortably since 2001.
The run took place during the car’s final certification programme ahead of production. At the wheel was Dario Franchitti, four-time IndyCar champion and GMA development driver, who managed to lap Bahrain in 1 minute 53.03 seconds. That time beats the circuit’s long-standing GT3 lap record by roughly seven seconds, which in motorsport terms is less of an improvement and more of a demolition job.
Franchitti also saw 184 mph during the test, which gives you some idea of the sort of performance we’re talking about here.
The Bahrain sessions were not just about chasing headlines, however. They formed the final Production Approval Test for the car, allowing engineers to complete calibration work on the suspension, brakes, engine management and throttle response before the T.50s officially enters production.
Named after three-time Formula 1 world champion Niki Lauda, the T.50s is the track-focused version of Gordon Murray’s already extraordinary T.50 road car. Only 25 examples will be built and, unsurprisingly, every single one has already been sold for a figure comfortably north of $4 million. Production is taking place at GMA’s headquarters in Surrey, with deliveries expected by mid-2026.
Although the T.50s looks similar to the road car, underneath it is something entirely different. Murray designed it around a brand new carbon fibre monocoque, avoiding the compromises that often come from converting road cars into track machines. The result is something far closer to a race car that simply happens not to be part of a racing series.
Power comes from a 3.9-litre Cosworth V12 that revs to an almost ridiculous 12,100 rpm, producing 772 horsepower. That power is sent through a six-speed Xtrac paddle-shift gearbox, while the car’s famous rear-mounted fan sucks air from beneath the car to generate enormous downforce. The system, combined with the T.50s’ aggressive aerodynamics, produces nearly 3,750 pounds of downforce.
And yet, despite all of this, the car weighs less than 900 kilograms. No air conditioning. No stereo. Just carbon fibre, a screaming V12 and a clear obsession with going extremely quickly.
On track, the physics become equally ridiculous. Franchitti reported 3G of braking force and nearly 2.7G in the corners, which is the sort of thing usually associated with proper racing cars rather than something you might see circulating during a private track day.
Even Franchitti, a man who has driven almost everything with four wheels and a racing pedigree, seemed impressed. He described the T.50s as one of the most engaging cars he has ever driven, which is saying something when your CV includes IndyCars and Le Mans prototypes.
As a final tribute, each of the 25 cars will be named after one of Niki Lauda’s 25 Formula 1 victories, linking the car directly to the legendary driver Murray worked with during their Brabham days in the late 1970s.
In short, the T.50s Niki Lauda is not really a hypercar. It is something far stranger and far more entertaining. It is a car built purely for the joy of speed, and judging by what happened in Bahrain, it has rather a lot of that.