Watch The Comically Fast McMurtry Speirling EV Set Goodwood Hill Climb Record

‘So fast the cameras can’t keep up’ sounds like a marketing campaign from the 1960s, but in the case of the McMurtry Speirling, it is absolutely true and entirely accurate.

The curious, British-built electric car is a tiny thing, somewhat resembling what Batman’s teenager might drive around in before being trusted with the full-scale Batmobile.

But don’t let the Speirling’s diminutive size dissuade you; this electric car outputs 1,000 horsepower, is claimed to weigh under a tonne, and just smashed a hillclimb record previously held by Volkswagen’s ID R electric racer.

With ex-Formula One driver Max Chiltern at the wheel, the car zipped up the famous 1.16-mile hillclimb at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed in 39.08 seconds, taking victory at this year’s show and beating the previous record by 0.8 seconds.

Key to the car’s blistering performance isn’t just the huge power-to-weight ratio, but an incredibly powerful fan system that sucks the car to the road.

Able to spool-up to speed before the car sets off, the fan can generate 2,000 kg (4,400 lbs) of downforce while stationary, with the aerodynamic body adding a further 250kg at 150 mph. An aircraft-grade redundancy system ensures there are two fans working on two completely separate control system, so if one were to fail mid-corner, the other will keep the car pinned to the road.

McMurtry hasn’t revealed a full set of performance statistics just yet, but says the Speirling can accelerate to 60mph in under 1.5 seconds in the configuration seen at Goodwood last weekend. The company has previously said the pint-sized EV, which is powered by a 60kWh battery, can reach 186mph (300 km/h) in 9.0 seconds.

Speaking to Autocar after setting the Goodwood record, McMurtry managing director Thomas Yates said a road-going version will be produced, and it’ll have a similar 1:1 power-to-weight ratio as the current model, which is around 40% better than a Bugatti Chiron.

Yates told Autocar: “We want to provide something that you can drive through the centre of London, and then take onto a track. It will never be the most comfortable over speed bumps, but that’s not really the point. The point is you have this unbelievable, loud, exciting, electric really compact car that you know will be the fastest at any track day you attend.

“It is also future proof, with no emissions and emits only the stuff that was on the floor before you got there.”