Gordon Murray Automotive Reveals Convertible T.33 Spider

Gordon Murray Automotive has revealed its latest supercar, the convertible T.33 Spider.

Powered by the same naturally-aspirated V12 engine as the T.33 coupe, the new T.33 Spider features a pair of removable roof panels and a rear windshield that can be lowered for the full open-air experience.

The carbon roof panels are designed to be stowed inside the front luggage compartment, and there is further luggage space thanks to a pair of lockers incorporated into the side panels of the car, accessible from the exterior and located behind the two seats.

Like all other road cars from Gordon Murray Automotive (GMA), the T.33 Spider will be limited to just 100 examples. The company says how exterior and interior options for the Spider have been curated into four themes, including one with a palette “inspired by Gordon Murray’s love for a tropical shirt”.

Just like the coupe, the T.33 Spider is powered by a 4.0-liter V12 engine developed by Cosworth. The mid-mounted powerplant produces 609 horsepower, 333 ft-lbs of torque and revs to 11,100 rpm. Doing without a heavy hybrid system, the T.33 Spider has a target dry weight of 1,108 kg (2,443 lbs), which is just 18 kg (40 lbs) more than the T.33 coupe. The power-to-weight ratio is 549 hp per tonne.

GMA has not stated acceleration times or a top speed, and instead says it “does not follow trends and does not seek headline performance figures; not now, nor in the future”.

Revealed in January 2022, the T.33 coupe was offered with the option of a manual, six-speed gearbox or a bespoke, clutchless and near-instantaneous automatic transmission exclusively developed by Xtrac. The latter offers much quicker shifts via its wheel-mounted paddles, but was specified by so few customers that the T.33 Spider is only being offered with a manual stick-shift.

GMA says the Spider was developed in parallel with the hard-topped T.33, sharing the same carbon fiber monocoque construction.

Murray said: “When drawing a car I imagine what it’s going to feel like to sit in, and how it will feel to drive. So from the first sketch I knew that, with its open cockpit and the incredible Cosworth GMA.2 V12 engine right behind you, the T.33 Spider would deliver a truly involving driving experience that’s quite unlike anything else.”

Regarding the car’s practical use of storage, Murray added: “And while it’s still a mid-engine supercar I wouldn’t accept any compromise on usability: this is why the T.33 Spider is unique in the supercar sector in delivering both onboard roof storage and a 295 liter luggage capacity.”

Although it looks very similar to the T.33 coupe, the T.33 Spider has been redesigned from the A-pillars back, with new buttresses blending from the roofline to the rear deck, behind which are louvers to aid with engine cooling. By removing the roof, the T.33’s ram induction airbox is even more distinctive – and surely the sounds it produces with the roof removed will be worth the seven-figure price tag all on their own.

Speaking of sound, GMA has designed the rear windshield so it can be lowered with the roof in place – that way, the cabin can be flooded with a glorious V12 soundtrack, even when the weather isn’t playing ball.

Inside, the cabin is the same as the regular T.33. This means two seats, a manual six-speed transmission and an analog rev counter flanked by a pair of digital displays. These are in turn framed by a set of six rotary knobs for controlling the cabin climate and driving settings.

There is no central infotainment display and no touchscreen either. Instead, the driver is encouraged to focus on the carbon fiber steering wheel trimmed in leather, and the switchgear machined from aluminum alloy. Lightweight carbon seats are trimmed in leather and Alcantara, and the interior (and exterior) can be tailored to each customer’s requests.

The T.33 Spider’s announcement comes just days after GMA announced that its flagship supercar, the T.50, has received its final sign-off and production of customer cars is about to begin.