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New GMA T33 Spider brings 609bhp V12 for £1.8m

The T33 Spider packs the same 607bhp Cosworth-made 3.9-litre V12 as its coupe sibling

Supercar loses its roof, keeps the manual and gains just 18kg "to offer the ultimate spider experience"

A topless variant of the GMA T33 will be the fourth car released by Gordon Murray Automotive, arriving in 2025 with a near-£500,000 premium over its coupé sibling.

Equipped with a targa-style roof and new design from the A-pillar backwards, the Spider is more than just a rebodied T33, company founder Gordon Murray pressed.

The £1.8 million supercar, of which “around half” of the 100 planned examples have already been sold, weighs just 18kg more than its 1090kg sibling. This is down mostly to “single grams from every component” being shaved across the car. The carbonfibre roof, which splits into two panels to be stored in the ‘frunk’, also plays a role.

Fitted with the same rear-mounted 607bhp Cosworth-made 3.9-litre V12, Murray said the new T33 – which is about the size of the Porsche 718 Boxster – arrives with a simple purpose: “To offer the ultimate spider experience.”

Key to this isn’t performance numbers (nothing was lost from the standard T33, although Murray said: “I really don’t care about figures”) but how it feels to drive.

Party pieces include an electronically dropping rear window and an air intake protruding above the cockpit that “brings the engine into the car”. It feeds straight to the naturally aspirated V12, which revs to 11,100rpm.

“We wanted to make the spider experience even more visceral and create an experience that no other car can offer,” said Murray, who penned the car along with design assistant Kevin Richards.

“This isn't a car to be driven down the boulevard at 10mph. This isn't a poser’s car. This is going to be a quick car.”

Although arriving a year after the standard T33, the open-top supercar was actually the first version to be drawn up, Murray told Autocar: “Spiders are a compromise, unfortunately, so when we did this, we made absolutely sure our minimum torsional target was set for this car [the Spider] and not the coupé, so if the coupé is stiffer, that’s a bonus.”

As with the coupé, the tight cabin has been set up with a focus on driving. A thin steering wheel (“I don’t like thick wheels”) will offer maximum road feel, while a long-stalked six-speed manual box from Xtrac again adds to the “experience”.

Body-hugging seats are fitted slightly reclined for a relaxed but still engaging driving position. Flared wheel arches and a short, sloping bonnet aid wheel placement, Murray added.

Elsewhere in the cabin, the Dunsfold-based firm has done away with indicator and wiper stalks in favour of wheel-mounted buttons. A paddle has even been added for the horn.

Drivers will pair their phones via Android Auto and Apple CarPlay to act as the T33’s infotainment.

As with the coupé, practicality is a major focus of the Spider, with it offering 295 litres of storage space – nearly as much as a Vauxhall Corsa  – or 180 when the roof is stored.

Production of the T33 Spider is due to begin in mid-2025, following the end of the coupé’s build phase, which will start in autumn 2024.

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-c...-%C2%A318m