Gordon Murray S1 LM: F1 GTR Le Mans Homage Revealed

No, you have not slipped through a space-time wormhole: it is still 2025, three decades after Gordon Murray’s landmark Le Mans victory with the F1 GTR. Before you is the S1 LM: a road-legal tribute to the F1 GTR, created by Gordon Murray for one especially significant customer and built around the GMA T.50 and T.50s.

Take a moment to absorb that, and to study the photographs. A launch celebrating one of our favourite racing cars, using the foundations of one of our all-time favourite supercars, is quite the statement.

The F1 GTR’s Le Mans legacy

First, some context. Gordon Murray did not originally create the F1 for competition, but several affluent customers persuaded both him and McLaren chief Ron Dennis to change course. With time permitting only modest revisions, the F1 GTR made its 1995 24 Hours of Le Mans debut and stormed to 1st, 3rd, 4th and 5th places. A legend followed.

McLaren marked the achievement by producing five LM road cars modelled on the GTR, each benefiting from a V12 more powerful than the unit fitted to either the race car or the regular road-going F1. In subsequent years, further F1 road cars received the visually similar high-downforce bodywork, while a select handful gained the unrestricted racing engine too. The inspiration behind this project is therefore unmistakable.

GMSV and the five-car S1 LM commission

The S1 LM is one of two new models from the freshly established GMSV, or Gordon Murray Special Vehicles; the other is the Le Mans GTR. GMSV exists to turn the ideas of Gordon’s team and its most committed, enthusiastic customers into reality. Its rare, special supercars will be developed across three pillars:

• Heritage - continuation models or reimagined vehicles from Gordon’s previous catalogue.
• Bespoke - individual 1 of 1 customer commissions, including the S1 LM.
• SV design - exceptionally low-volume specials derived from GMA production cars, beginning with the Le Mans GTR.

Returning to the S1 LM - Special vehicle 1, Le Mans - just five examples will be made, with every one destined for the same owner. He shares the healthy fixation that many of us have with Gordon’s 1995 Le Mans-winning F1 GTR, and collaborated with the GMA team and his own designer to devise a contemporary, road-legal take on his ultimate motoring hero.

Its foundations combine T.50 and T.50s highlights. For instance, the body panels use the same, marginally lighter material as those on the T.50s, whereas the three-seat cabin arrangement and six-speed manual gearbox come from the T.50.

Gordon Murray S1 LM V12 and F1 GTR-inspired design

The V12 receives a far more comprehensive transformation. The “standard”, naturally aspirated 4.0-litre V12 was returned to Cosworth for further work, emerging as a 4.3-litre engine with a larger bore and lighter internal components. It still spins beyond 12,000rpm, while output is now “over 700bhp”. Our ears hurt merely at the thought.

GMSV says the suspension is both lighter and stiffer than the T.50’s, while solid engine mounts provide an even more immediate handling response without devastating refinement. This is, after all, intended as a genuinely usable road car rather than a track-day special.

Outside, the design combines unmistakable F1 GTR cues with modern interpretation. The headlights, for example, sit within narrow openings for a futuristic appearance, while their cut-out surrounds reference the original car’s larger lamps. A bridge wing incorporated into the front clam, lozenge-shaped front-wheel-arch vents, five-spoke wheels, a roof scoop, and the crisp angles and intakes along the flanks have all been borrowed from - and reworked from - the original.

The rear, though, is the star of the show. Its fixed wing closely mirrors the original, although it now uses dual planes for added downforce. The four circular rear lights, finished with fresh neon-sunset slats, look spot-on, as do the badges and quad Inconel exhaust outlets. The show car viewed had only a partly completed cabin, but the interior renderings reveal a focus on Gordon’s core principles of low weight and engineering artistry - alongside some fun in the form of ear defenders, tartan upholstery and a wooden gear selector.

There is no pricing information - if you have to ask, and all that - but the first car is expected to reach its owner next year. GMSV is reportedly already developing its next run of special models. What would you want to see it create next?