Gordon Murray celebrated a milestone weekend at the 2026 Le Mans Classic with the world dynamic debut of the new Le Mans GTR XP1 and a fitting tribute to six decades of race and road car design.
Making its first appearance at the Circuit de la Sarthe, the Le Mans GTR prototype took to the track in heritage racing green, its dramatic longtail silhouette stretching down the Mulsanne Straight before sweeping through the Porsche Curves. At the wheel, Dario Franchitti showcased the car’s naturally aspirated Cosworth V12, its 12,100rpm soundtrack echoing around the circuit.
Inspired by Murray’s own longtail Le Mans racers and the great endurance cars of the 1970s, ’80s and ’90s, the Le Mans GTR combines a new lightweight platform with track-focused aerodynamics, a six-speed manual gearbox and a re-engineered chassis conceived to deliver a pure, analogue driving experience.
The occasion carried added significance when Professor Gordon Murray was invited to wave the French tricolour to start the Le Mans Classic, following a demonstration featuring nine cars spanning his extraordinary career. The parade included the T.50, T.50s Niki Lauda, T.33, the 1996 McLaren F1 GTR Shorttail, the 1972 Duckhams LM Ford and a trio of Brabham Formula 1 cars.
“It was a great honour to start the Le Mans Classic,” said Murray. “My passion for longtail racing cars goes back decades. To see the Le Mans GTR, inspired by those machines, driving on this circuit for the first time was a very special moment.”
Just 24 examples of the Le Mans GTR will be built—all already allocated—with customer deliveries scheduled to begin in 2027.
Franchitti described the Sarthe debut as “an incredible experience”, praising the car’s endurance-racing character and trademark Murray emphasis on driver engagement.
The Le Mans appearance marks the latest chapter in a busy period for Gordon Murray Automotive. Since the T.50’s launch in 2020, the company has delivered all 100 customer cars, while production of the track-only T.50s Niki Lauda is underway and development of the T.33 and T.33 Spider continues. Next stop is the Goodwood Festival of Speed, where the Le Mans GTR and a collection of V12-powered Murray creations will tackle the famous hillclimb.
Above contents © 2026 Gordon Murray Automotive Ltd., reviewed and edited by Rex McAfee , @rexmcafee 🏁
#LeMans #GordonMurray #LeMansClassic #Supercar #CosworthV12 #T50 #ManualGearbox #EnduranceRacing #GoodwoodFOS #Automotive
