Targa variant of 607bhp V12-engined GMA coupé is just 18kg heavier, virtually as stiff
WILL RIMELL
An open-top variant of the T33 coupé will be the fourth car from Gordon Murray Automotive (GMA), due out in 2025.
It commands a near-
£500,000 premium over its sibling, at £1.8 million, yet around half of the 100 examples
planned have already been sold.
With a targa-style roof and new design from the A-pillar backwards, the T33 Spider is more than just a rebodied T33 coupé, pressed company founder Gordon Murray.
It is just 18kg heavier than its 1090kg sibling, due mostly to “single grams from every component” being shaved. The carbonfibre roof, which splits into two panels for storage in the ‘frunk’, also plays a role.
With the same 607bhp Cosworth-made 3.9-litre V12 mid-mounted and driving the rear wheels, the T33 Spider – which is about the size of the Porsche 718 Boxster – has a simple purpose: “To offer the ultimate spider experience.”
Key to this isn’t performance numbers but how it feels to drive. Nothing was lost from the T33 coupé, but Murray said: “I really don’t care about figures.”
Party pieces include an electronically dropping rear window and an intake protruding above the cockpit (which feeds air straight to a naturally aspirated V12 that revs to 11,100rpm) to “bring the engine into the car”.
“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 and not the coupé. So if the coupé is stiffer, that’s a bonus.”
Like the coupé, the Spider gets double wishbones (coil spring over damper) front and rear, connected to 19in and 20in alloy wheels wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tyres. Stopping power comes from carbon-ceramic brake discs.
As with the coupé, the tight cabin has been set up with a focus on the driver.
A thin wheel (“I don’t like thick wheels”) and hydraulic power steering assistance were chosen to offer maximum ro
