McMurtry simply flipped the script on what a automobile can do—actually—by changing into the primary to drive a hypercar the other way up from a standstill. The all-electric McMurtry Spéirling has made historical past as the primary automobile to attain inverted driving, powered by its groundbreaking fan-based Downforce-on-Demand™ system.
The stunt, carried out at McMurtry’s Gloucestershire headquarters, wasn’t only a daring occasion trick—it was a proof of idea many years within the making. Co-founder and Managing Director Thomas Yates bought behind the wheel for the record-setting feat, which happened on a specifically constructed, rotating rig in entrance of staff and unbiased adjudicators. And sure, there’s video proof. (You want to see it.)
The Science of Sticking to the Ceiling
Whereas F1 followers have lengthy speculated that sure race vehicles may drive the other way up due to excessive ranges of aerodynamic downforce at velocity, nobody has truly executed it—till now. The Spéirling’s proprietary fan system generates as much as 2,000kg of downforce from a standstill. That’s greater than sufficient to beat gravity and actually suck the automobile to a floor above it.
This unbelievable degree of grip means the automobile doesn’t want airflow over wings like conventional racecars. As a substitute, it creates a vacuum beneath the chassis, permitting it to speed up, brake, and nook like no different automobile on Earth—or on this case, above it.
For the demonstration, the Spéirling climbed a ramp onto a rotating platform, which then flipped the automobile the other way up. As soon as inverted, Yates confidently drove the hypercar ahead, fully unsupported by something apart from the uncooked energy of the fan system.
One other Day, One other File
The upside-down stunt isn’t even the one headline McMurtry made this week. The Spéirling additionally simply smashed the all-time document on the Prime Gear Check Monitor—beating a V10-powered Components 1 automobile by a staggering 3.1 seconds. Add that to its earlier titles on the Goodwood Pageant of Pace and Laguna Seca Corkscrew Hillclimb, and the Spéirling is rapidly changing into essentially the most dominant drive in electrical hypercar efficiency.
“Strapping in and driving inverted was a very surreal expertise,” stated Yates. “The 2000kg of downforce is really astonishing and it’s nice to point out why our Spéirling continues to take data all over the world.”
From File Breaker to Actuality
McMurtry is gearing up for manufacturing of the Spéirling PURE, with solely 100 models deliberate. Buyer deliveries are set for 2026, and the manufacturing mannequin will embody a beefier 100kWh battery pack that permits as much as 20 minutes of GT3-level observe efficiency or a number of record-breaking scorching laps. The battery tech makes use of P50B Molicel 21700 cells for optimum energy and density.
The automobile used for the gravity-defying demonstration was the Spéirling PURE Validation Prototype 1 (VP1), completed in a hanging falcon-inspired camouflage—a nod to McMurtry’s unique 2021 fan automobile and its brand, the peregrine falcon (a becoming mascot, being the quickest creature on Earth).
Constructed to Race, Engineered for Security
Regardless of the wild visuals, security stays paramount. The Spéirling meets motorsport requirements akin to LMP1 endurance racecars. Its distinctive capacity to generate downforce at any velocity—even throughout spins or lack of management—means it could actually scrub velocity nearly immediately, usually stopping off-track excursions totally.
As McMurtry continues the late Sir David McMurtry’s legacy of relentless innovation, the Spéirling is proving that the way forward for efficiency isn’t simply electrical—it’s mind-bendingly imaginative.
The query first whispered by followers again in 2021—“Can it drive the other way up?”—has lastly been answered. And never simply with hypothesis, however with a jaw-dropping stunt that may go down as probably the most audacious feats in automotive historical past.
When the Spéirling lastly reaches prospects, it received’t simply be the quickest EV on the observe—it’ll be the primary automobile that proved gravity is simply one other impediment to beat.