***** T.50 - Cosworth V12 Engine - Case Study *****
Overview
For its first ever vehicle, Gordon Murray Automotive wants to rewrite the super car rulebook. The T.50 will be the purest, lightest, most driver-focused supercar ever built – a spiritual successor to the iconic McLaren F1 and made to the same exacting standards.
Describing its approach as ‘unflinching dedication’, the T.50 uses world-leading standards of advanced engineering across all of its components. GMA recruited us as a trusted technical partner to design, develop and manufacture an all-new exclusive V12 engine to power the T.50.
Challenge
Our brief from GMA was clear – the engine had to be light. It had to have the fastest response time of any engine ever built for the road, replicating the targets set for the illustrious McLaren F1. We were tasked with delivering the highest-revving engine ever made for a production car with unrivalled power-to-weight. The brief also extended to aesthetics and aural experience by developing a characterful V12 which sounds superb and looks good – a clean design with no coverings or belt-driven ancillaries.
Particular focus has been given to producing the purest driving experience, in keeping with the overriding ethos of the T.50. Alongside being able to deliver superlative performance, the engine also had to meet modern emissions targets.
Solution
A key part of the brief was to keep the capacity of the T.50’s V12 as small as possible. With a clear view on the required acceleration and torque, and the goal of a sub-1,000kg total vehicle weight, we proposed the capacity to be just 3.9-litres while still achieving supercar performance.
It will be the highest revving, fastest responding, most power dense, and lightest naturally aspirated V12 road car engine ever. Meticulously designed and engineered, the unit brings together the collective experience of Cosworth and Gordon Murray to be the most engaging, characterful and driver focused V12 engine ever produced.
Not only does the T.50’s V12 promise high-end power, 663 PS at 11,500 rpm, it is also compliant for everyday driving. The maximum torque figure of 467Nm is produced at 9,000rpm, but key to ensuring day-to-day driveability is that 71% of the engine’s torque will be produced from as low as 2,500rpm.
The T.50 engine produces the highest power density of any naturally aspirated road car engine ever made – 166PS-per-litre. This record, coupled with the lightness of the unit, places this engine right at the pinnacle of naturally aspirated powertrain development.
To achieve the lowest weight possible the block in the T.50 is made from a high-strength aluminium alloy, the crankshaft is made from steel and weighs only 13 kilograms, and the connecting rods and valves are made from titanium – as is the clutch housing. This all contributed to engine weight of just 178kg – yet another road-car record.
Engine Spec
No. cylinders: 12
Capacity: 3,994cc
V-angle: 65°
Power: 652 bhp
Aspiration: Naturally aspirated
Bore: 81.5 mm
Stroke: 63.8 mm
Compression ratio: 14:1
Max power: 663 PS @ 11,500 rpm
Power to weight ratio: 672 PS per tonne
Weight to power ratio: 150 kg per 100 PS
Max torque: 467 Nm @ 9,000 rpm
Flexibility: 71% of max torque @ 2,500 rpm
Maximum rpm: 12,100 rpm
Valve train: Gear driven double overhead camshafts
Inclined axis 4 valves per cylinder – variable valve timing on inlet / exhaust
Induction system: RAM induction airbox – 4 throttle bodies – Direct Path Induction Sound
Exhaust system: Inconel and Titanium
Lubrication system: Dry sump
Cooling system: Water-cooled – twin aluminium front radiators
Oil cooling system: Single aluminium rear radiator
Ignition system: 12 individual coils 12-volt
Starter/alternator: 48-volt gear driven integrated starter / generator
Exhaust emission control: 4 catalytic convertors with Lambda sensors and secondary air injection
Engine block: Aluminium alloy
Cylinder heads: Aluminium alloy
Connection rods: Titanium
Valves: Titanium
Total engine weight: 178 kg
Engine mounting: Semi-structural-inclined axis shear mounting (IASM)
Power density: 166 PS-per-litre
Link 1: https://www.cosworth.com/case_studies/t-50/
***** Powering Gordon Murray Automotive’s T.50 supercar - Cosworth V12 Engine *****
POWERING THE GORDON MURRAY AUTOMOTIVE T.50 SUPERCAR
(11 August 2020)
When the all-new Gordon Murray Automotive T.50 supercar made its public debut on 4 August, car enthusiasts around the world were rapt. Every single part of the car was scrutinised, including our 3.9-litre V12 engine, which GMA describe as ‘the most engaging, characterful and driver-focused V12 engine ever produced.’
The 3.9-litre T.50 engine delivers maximum power (663PS) at 11,500rpm, on its way to a 12,100rpm redline. The maximum torque figure of 467Nm is produced at 9,000rpm, while the pick-up is a record-breaking 28,400 revs per second.
The T.50 has the highest power density (166PS-per-litre) of any road-going V12. It is also the lightest ever made thanks to a combination of exceptional design and lightweight materials (aluminium, steel and titanium) resulting in a total engine weight of just 178kg.
With a focus on driver engagement, the T.50’s engine will be the highest-revving and most responsive naturally-aspirated engine ever fitted to a production road car.
Fed by a roof-mounted cold-air ram induction inlet, the T.50 powerplant delivers 71% of its peak torque from 2,500rpm, with its maximum (467Nm) achieved at 9,000rpm. This usability, and the outright performance of the engine is coupled to another major achievement: the unit produces the highest power density of any naturally aspirated road car engine – 166PS-per-litre.
Packing this amount of power into the world’s lightest road car V12 (just 178kg) required yet more innovation. To achieve the weight target, the block is made from a high-strength aluminium alloy and the connecting rods, valves and clutch housing are titanium.
Focusing again on the driving experience, Murray strived for the engine to have very compact external dimensions and the lowest possible centre of gravity. Here, reducing the F1’s 125mm crank height was the goal, a feat more than achieved by the Cosworth team – the T.50’s crank sits just 85mm from the bottom of the engine.
Beneath the car’s two rear gullwing openings, Murrays motorsport heritage influences the appearance of the Cosworth GMA V12. Inspired by race car engines, it uses gear-driven ancillaries for lightness, with the added benefit of a clean and uncluttered engine bay. Murray was determined that the engine should be devoid of unsightly belts. All of the ancillaries are carefully positioned out of sight leaving the block heads, primary exhaust manifolds and inlet trumpets centre stage.
As well as effectively being an engineering work of art, T.50’s engine is semi-structural, providing much of the rigidity and weight saving found in a race car, without compromising driver comfort and cabin refinement. The semi-structural layout saves weight and increases stiffness while avoiding the noise, vibration and harshness penalties typically found with fully structural units, which increase cabin noise and hamper ride comfort.
As part of the early development process, the team surpassed efficiency and emissions requirements and completed plans for two engine maps. These driver-selectable modes ensure the T.50 is not only the ultimate driver’s car but is equally at home as a GT or a daily driver. While the engine offers usability and high-performance in either mode, ‘GT mode’ limits revs to 9,500rpm and with 600PS available, making the car even easier to drive around town.
If the driver selects ‘Power mode’, the full breadth of the car’s ability is unleashed, utilising all 663PS, and accessing the engine’s full 12,100rpm rev range. In this mode in particular, it promises to be one of the best sounding road car engines ever made – achieved partly through the extensive rev-range, but also influenced by the car’s Direct Path Induction Sound engineering, which channels the sound of the fabulous V12 into the cabin.
Gordon Murray: “To be truly remarkable, an engine needs to have the right characteristics: highly-responsive, an amazing sound, engaging torque delivery, free-revving, and it has to be naturally aspirated. For all those reasons, the engine in the T.50 was never going to be anything other than a V12.”
Extract from GMA T.50 press release
Link 2: https://www.cosworth.com/uncategorized/powering-the-gordon-murray-automotive-t-50-supercar/
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