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McMurtry Spéirling Shatters Castle Combe Lap Record With Max Chilton At The Wheel
On 29th April 2024, the McMurtry Spéirling PURE (Validation Prototype 1) fan car set a new lap record at Castle Combe Circuit in Wiltshire, England. Driven by Max Chilton, the car achieved a time of 54.559 seconds while running at 80% power with a speed limit of 155mph. This performance surpassed the previous fastest race lap record by 4.037 seconds, which was set by an F3 car in 2021.
Castle Combe Circuit, often called the prettiest village in England, has a rich racing history spanning 74 years. The track is 1.85 miles long and features a mix of fast corners, a blind crest, and two technical chicanes. McMurtry cars are designed and handbuilt just 30 minutes from Castle Combe, making it their 'home circuit'. The company has been conducting durability testing there since 2021.
This recent achievement marks the first time McMurtry has released a lap time from their testing at Castle Combe. The team decided to answer questions frequently asked by locals about how fast their car could go around the circuit. Max Chilton's record-breaking lap was nearly 10 seconds faster than the GT3 lap record set by a Lamborghini Huracán GT3 in 2022.
Max Chilton commented on the significance of this achievement: "Everyone wants bragging rights at their local circuit, and even running at 80% power and with a 155mph speed limit, we’ve knocked 4 seconds off the outright track record. This demonstrates the potential in the car for our customers to achieve the same at their local or favourite circuits."
The McMurtry Spéirling PURE hyper-track car starts at £895k plus taxes and delivery. It features high-performance Molicel lithium-ion cells in its battery pack and utilises a unique downforce-on-demand system that provides exceptional grip from 0mph. This system works alongside its 1000bhp electric powertrain, offering selectable performance drive modes ranging from GT3 to F1-level pace.
Thomas Yates, Managing Director of McMurtry Automotive, expressed his excitement: "This is a fun milestone to achieve. It’s not every day you get to see a car and driver go so much faster than what’s gone before. Having tested at Castle Combe for years, it was about time we showed what the car can do around our local circuit."
Future Record Attempts
McMurtry plans to continue testing and verifying increased power modes under different use cases throughout 2024 and 2025. They aim to push towards using full power and downforce settings in future record attempts worldwide. Their next stop is Laguna Seca in the USA for the reverse corkscrew hill climb event on August 10th and 11th with Max Chilton driving.
The objectives of the Spéirling PURE track car include making record-breaking performance accessible to track driving enthusiasts, reviving legendary fan car technology, and restoring passion for small and lightweight cars. McMurtry aims to become one of the world's most prestigious automotive brands founded on motorsport innovation.
The company proudly showcases British innovation and engineering design while drawing inspiration from legends of the past. Their ambition is to champion small and lightweight vehicles within the automotive industry.
This latest achievement at Castle Combe highlights McMurtry's commitment to pushing boundaries in motorsport technology while maintaining strong ties to their local roots.
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