Upside-down drive sets record

A single-seat, electric hypercar has completed a world first by being driven upside down under its own downforce.

McMurtry Automotive completed the topsy-turvy feat with its Speirling model at the company’s headquarters in Gloucestershire, England.

Thomas Yates, co-founder and managing director, was at the wheel for the record-breaking effort this year. 

He used the vehicle’s proprietary fan system, which produces McMurtry’s trademarked Downforce-on-Demand, to “suck” the hypercar to the “floor” of a specially-built rotating rig. 

“Strapping in and driving inverted was a completely surreal experience,” says Yates. 

“The 2000kg of downforce that the fan system can generate is truly astonishing to experience and it’s great to show the reason why our Speirling continues to take records around the world.”

Other claims to fame for the Speirling include holding the Goodwood Festival of Speed Hillclimb outright record and the Laguna Seca Corkscrew Hillclimb record.

Yates adds that with a longer inverted track or a suitable tunnel, the company may be able to drive even further upside down.

McMurtry Automotive notes it has long been discussed that high-performance race cars, such as those used in Formula 1, could theoretically be driven upside down because of the amount of downforce they generate at speed. 

Using its patented system, the Speirling can deliver significant downforce at any speed, even at a standstill. 

This proprietary technology also enables the battery-electric hypercar to accelerate to nearly 100kph in just 1.5 seconds and corner at more than 3g (three times the force of gravity).

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