The 2021 Goodwood Festival of Speed Revealed the McMurtry Spéirling, an EV That’s Actually Loud
The 2021 Goodwood Festival of Speed is one of the coolest automotive events in the world. Every year it showcases some of the coolest examples of new and vintage speed monsters the world has to offer. This year’s 2021 Goodwood Festival of Speed showcased what might be the fastest and loudest EV the world has ever seen, the McMurty Spéirling.
When the 2021 Audi E-Tron GTdebued last year, we were reminded that car people love the noises cars make. Turbo blow-back, supercharger whine, exhaust crackles, and anything else remind us that tiny explosions are happening inside our cars. However, most EVs don’t give us that satisfaction. Thankfully, the Audi E-Tron GT and now the McMurtry Spéirling are a couple of standout EVs that not only make some noise but, in the Spéirling’s case, make a lot of noise.
What the hell is a McMurtry Spéirling?
McMurtry Automotive is a British auto company that took to the 2021 Goodwood Festival of Speed with its new all-electric compact hypercar called the Spéirling. Obviously, this little ripper is quite the bizarre-looking race car. It is noticeably tiny and oddly proportioned. What you can’t tell from the photos is the massive noise this thing makes.
One of the most notable aspects of the Spéirling is how loud it is. One of the biggest cons to the electric car scene for enthusiasts is that they don’t have the satisfying sound of an engine. I’d wager if more EVs sounded like the Spéirling; you wouldn’t hear nearly the amount of whinging from the old boys.
What makes this the loudest EV?
First, let’s get a better grasp on what we are looking at/hearing here. According to New Atlas, the Spéirling is a single-seater designed for track-only use, for now. It wears a full carbon fiber body which measures a tiny 10.5ft wide x 3.4ft high x 4.9ft wide.
The Spéirling is powered by a rear-wheel-drive two-motor e-axle system of McMurtry’s own design, running off a 60-kWh battery pack placed low and in the middle. Power figures aren’t yet available, but the company promises it’ll offer at least one horsepower per kilogram of weight, with the final weight figure under 2,205 lb. The company says it’ll be enough power to comfortably escort you from 0-186 mph in less than nine seconds.
One of the coolest aspects of the Spéirling is the two 80-hp fans set underneath the car, generating more than 50 percent of the car’s weight in downforce even before it starts moving. And here lay the culprit for all the racket. These fans are moving massive amounts of air. In fact, the electric fan can generate up to 1,102 pounds of downforce regardless of speed.
The Spéirling stands out in the EV segment that is known for its ghostly quiet cars. The Spéirling makes roughly 120 decibels of what sounds more like a jet engine than a car.
Even though the Spéirling is technically too loud to be run on many city streets and even some race tracks, McMurtry told AutoTrader that he sees the noise as a “happy accident” that brings some needed drama and excitement to an otherwise sterile segment.
What makes the Audi E-Tron GT’s noise?
Audi created a signature note for both the driver and pedestrians. Sound isn’t just beneficial for making the driver feel cool; people need to hear a car coming as well. Be that as it may, Audi also wanted to give E-Tron GT drivers a sense of performance from the sound.
What makes the 2021 Audi E-Tron GT sound so cool is that not only does it make sound at all, but it makes this crazy spaceship noise. According to The Drive, an Audi spokesperson verified that the Audi E-Tron GT would have the same sound as the high-performance RS version when it comes out.
Thankfully, Audi and McMurtry seem to be looking for some opportunities to create some much-needed excitement in the EV sphere. What these EVs are capable of is amazing, but the segment is still struggling to get car enthusiasts’ attention.
High-performance cars like the Mcmurtry Spéirling are a strong step in the right direction, but there is little to no chance these will ever be available for anything other than the track. The Audi E-Tron GT is making a strong play to be a loud EV that might get car people stoked for the future.
