Gordon Murray chose to name the extreme, £ 3.1 million track of his new hypercar, the T.50s, after three-time world champion Niki Lauda, who passed away in May 2019.
Lauda and Murray worked together for two seasons at Brabham in 1978 and 1979, with Lauda’s famous victory in the first race in which Murray’s radical BT46B ‘fancar’ participated, the 1978 Swedish Grand Prix at Anderstorp.
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The BT46B’s distinctive rear-mounted fan is reproduced on the T.50s Niki Lauda (complete with the caption ‘Fancar’ on the rear flanks of the car), working with the car’s aerodynamic parts to produce 1,500 kg of downforce. It will be a welcome downforce for the 25 owners who can get their hands on this track special too, as the car weighs only 852 kg, while it is capable of producing 725 hp with its 3.9 liter V12, manufactured by Cosworth.
The Gordon Murray Automotive T.50s Niki Lauda was launched on February 22, on what would be Lauda’s 72nd birthday, with Murray honoring the three-time champion, saying: “Niki was a great racing driver and also a good friend and is absolutely appropriate that we are launching the T.50s Niki Lauda on his birthday. Niki would have appreciated the innovation and engineering details in our car. “
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Meanwhile, each of Niki Laudas’ 25 T.50s will be named after Murray’s Formula One victories, with the first car being known as’ Kyalami 1974 ‘- celebrating Carlos Reutemann’s victory in the 1974 South African Grand Prix for Brabham.