By the end of the next day, it held the new Hockenheim Ring track record – taking it rather violently – from the track-focused Mercedes AMG One record-holding hypercar by 14.1 seconds. Yes, it took the record by 14.1 seconds. It did not ask for consent. That's nearly one second per corner on the 17-turn track.
For those who are track enthusiasts, it's no small feat taking 14.1 seconds off a lap on a track that's only 2.84 miles (4.57 km) long when you're already at the pointy end of the sword. It's mind-boggling.
The Speirling "fan car", as it's called – due to the twin fans underneath creating a vacuum to create downforce on demand – is a twin-motor electric vehicle bursting at the seams with 1,000 hp that launches its 2,205-lb frame from 0-60 mph in a tire-roaching 1.4 seconds. It can do the 1/4 mile in just under eight seconds, hitting the car's top speed of 233 mph for the last three seconds of the run.
1,000 hp = 746 kW
2,205 lb = 1,000 point one kg
0-60 mph = 96.6 km/h in 1.4 seconds
1/4 mile = 0.4 km in 7.97 seconds
233 mph = 375 km/h top speed
insane = insane, in any language
These are numbers typically associated with ballistics, not automobiles.
When it set the record on June 8th, 2024, the car was at 75% power and 75% downforce setting. It hadn't even been unleashed to its full potential. McMurtry technicians intend to turn the volume up to 11 in future tests later this year. The twin fans it uses create 4,400 lb (2,000 kg) of artificial downforce from zero miles per hour, sucking the carbon fiber monocoque to the tarmac like a shop vac to your floor mats.
In 2022, the Mercedes lapped Hockenheim at a 1:38.5, making it the champ of closed-wheeled cars. The McMurtry Speirling lapped the same course in 1.24.43 while having missed at least one apex.
Sure, the "cheater button" was turned on, but only at 75%. I'm utterly nonplussed trying to imagine what 100% is going to look like.
Check out the video where you can see the Speirling Pure swallow hypercars like the Porsche GT-3 and Pagani Huayra R as if they're standing still.
Source: McMurtry Automotive