Gordon Murray Just Won Car Week Again With The Stunning S1

If there was a winner of Monterey Car Week 2025, it was the Gordon Murray Special Vehicles S1 LM. A modern take on the F1 LM’s visuals that also reimagined every component that makes the T.50 great, pretty much everyone both loved it and bemoaned that only five would be made. One allocation sold at auction for $20.63 million. That’s an absolutely unreal figure, and it certainly proved demand for the concept. So why not keep tweaking? Approach it with fresh eyes, dispense with some of the Le Mans influence, and plan for a much larger 64-car production run? Welcome to the Gordon Murray Special Vehicles S1. No LM, it’s neater that way.

Under the rear lid, you’ll find a 4.2-liter Cosworth V12 making 680 horsepower without any forced induction. The rev limiter won’t be found until 12,100 RPM, and it most certainly will be found because the S1 comes exclusively equipped with a six-speed manual gearbox. Even that’s seen some tinkering, with more direct shifter cable routing promising an improved gearchange. However, the six-speed’s long touring overdrive gear should give a clue as to how this particular engine is tuned. Peak torque of approximately 369 lb.-ft. may occur at a peaky 7,000 RPM, but GMSV claims 80 percent of that will be on tap from just 2,500 RPM. On paper, it’s the sort of powerband that rewards chasing redline, but doesn’t require it.

Perhaps even more interesting than the powertrain changes is what’s been done to the suspension on the S1. Compared to the LM, GMSV’s raised the ride height and relaxed the dampers. Not by much, as the S1 only sits four-tenths of an inch higher than its LM brother, but even that amount can make a difference over crowns and cambers, bumps and potholes, nasty driveway entrances and sleeping policemen.

While few will be fortunate enough to experience the engineering behind the S1 firsthand, you don’t need to be mentioned in Forbes or the Sunday Times to appreciate the styling. In contrast to much of the ultra-aggro state-of-the-art out there, the S1 doesn’t have a fixed element sticking proud from its deck. It doesn’t have a splitter jutting out like a pouting lip, or blades on the roof, or suspension arms you can clearly see from the front. As a result, there’s a purity to the shape of the S1 we’ve largely lost in the exotic car realm. A substantial chunk of the downforce is simply generated under the car, meaning the latest Gordon Murray creation should rely more on mechanical grip. How exciting.

Such a clean look clearly took great lengths to achieve. Every single panel on the S1 is different from its counterpart on the S1 LM, from the valence to the hood to the doors to the clamshell. The result feels even closer to an F1, even though they’re wildly different in detailing. However, a clean sheet means Sir Murray was able to bring a few items to fruition that were left on the cutting room floor when developing the ultimate car of the ’90s. For instance, check out the recessed driving lamps, just like the ones on the F1 show car that never made it to production.

Naturally, three-abreast seating is the only way to travel in such a machine, and the debut color scheme is positively lovely. As enticing as all the metalwork is, perhaps the most interesting thing seen from this view is that the side-view mirrors are real and not camera-based. Could this mean the S1 is coming to America as a regular car instead of under show-and-display? Only time will tell.

In some ways, the GMSV S1 represents the ultimate luxury: Time. The ability to reimagine a masterpiece using the latest and greatest technology, beyond the physical constraints of the original. Granted, it’s still early days. We don’t yet know exactly how much it’ll weigh, although GMSV claims a figure less than that of the sub-one-tonne T.50. Likewise, pricing is anyone’s guess, although the presence of two commas is practically assured. Still, this feels like an ultra-exotic worth dreaming about. And my word, is it ever pretty sitting next to its rivals.

Top graphic image: Gordon Murray Special Vehicles

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