Autocar August 5, 2020

MITSUBISHI GAVE itself a huge head start over the rest of the industry with the 2013 launch of the Outlander PHEV. It got there first with plug-in technology, wrapped it in an SUV body and took advantage of the ramp-up of Europe-wide incentives for such cars. But seven years on, Mitsubishi hasn’t followed it up, while rivals have caught up – and now it never will do, because the company has fired the starting gun for its exit from European shores (p12). To sell in Europe in the years ahead, the investments needed to meet emissions legislation are vast. One plug-in hybrid isn’t enough. Every car in the range needs to be electrified, and the economies of scale just aren’t there for Mitsubishi to make that viable. Two years ago, it was looking…

MITSUBISHI GAVE itself a huge head start over the rest of the industry with the 2013 launch of the Outlander PHEV. It got there first with plug-in technology, wrapped it in an SUV body and took advantage of the ramp-up of Europe-wide incentives for such cars. But seven years on, Mitsubishi hasn’t followed it up, while rivals have caught up – and now it never will do, because the company has fired the starting gun for its exit from European shores (p12). To sell in Europe in the years ahead, the investments needed to meet emissions legislation are vast. One plug-in hybrid isn’t enough. Every car in the range needs to be electrified, and the economies of scale just aren’t there for Mitsubishi to make that viable. Two years ago,…

“The 650bhp T50 is smaller than the Porsche 911 and lighter than the Alpine A110” Gordon Murray’s new V12-engined T50 supercar, the “logical successor” to his seminal McLaren F1 of 1992, has been unveiled at the Surrey factory where manufacturing will start late next year. Deliveries are due to begin early in 2022. The new car, which Murray calls “the purest, lightest, most driver-focused supercar ever built”, is an ultra-light, mid-engined, all-carbonfibre three-seater, dubbed the T50 because it’s Murray’s 50th car design in a career spanning more than half a century. It uses a refined version of the ground-effect ‘fan car’ technology its designer first introduced to grand prix racing with the Brabham BT46B for the 1978 Formula 1 season. Powered by a new 650bhp naturally aspirated 4.0-litre Cosworth V12…

“The 650bhp T50 is smaller than the Porsche 911 and lighter than the Alpine A110” Gordon Murray’s new V12-engined T50 supercar, the “logical successor” to his seminal McLaren F1 of 1992, has been unveiled at the Surrey factory where manufacturing will start late next year. Deliveries are due to begin early in 2022. The new car, which Murray calls “the purest, lightest, most driver-focused supercar ever built”, is an ultra-light, mid-engined, all-carbonfibre three-seater, dubbed the T50 because it’s Murray’s 50th car design in a career spanning more than half a century. It uses a refined version of the ground-effect ‘fan car’ technology its designer first introduced to grand prix racing with the Brabham BT46B for the 1978 Formula 1 season. Powered by a new 650bhp naturally aspirated 4.0-litre Cosworth V12 with a 12,100rpm redline,…

It’s amazing to see how much trouble Gordon Murray has taken making his new T50 into a daily driver. He has refined the carbonfibre tub to make sliding into the central seat much easier. There’s an easier new way of loading the luggage compartments, too. And the body’s frontal features are designed so that a ‘nose lift’ mechanism, familiar in McLarens and Porsches, isn’t needed. The aim, he says, is that if you’re rich enough and want just one supercar, the T50 will be the logical choice. The truth is different. The demand for cars as exclusive and pricey as the new Murray (or should that be GMA?) T50 is driven by an odd combination of trust and taste for investment. During our interview, the designer remarked that half of…

It’s amazing to see how much trouble Gordon Murray has taken making his new T50 into a daily driver. He has refined the carbonfibre tub to make sliding into the central seat much easier. There’s an easier new way of loading the luggage compartments, too. And the body’s frontal features are designed so that a ‘nose lift’ mechanism, familiar in McLarens and Porsches, isn’t needed. The aim, he says, is that if you’re rich enough and want just one supercar, the T50 will be the logical choice. The truth is different. The demand for cars as exclusive and pricey as the new Murray (or should that be GMA?) T50 is driven by an odd combination of trust and taste for investment. During our interview, the designer remarked that half of the 100…