We're Getting Serious Batmobile Vibes From This Bonkers Electric Fan Car

Did anyone see a bat logo in the sky above Goodwood this weekend? We ask because a small British company has launched a new racer that could easily be an electric Batmobile - and even Batman will have to go EV eventually (so he can catch baddies in Gotham City’s upcoming ultra-low emission zone).

This is the McMurtry Speirling, the first offering from the British-based startup. Speirling means ‘thunderstorm’ in Irish, and it’s suitable for the power of the car if not the noise. McMurtry promises a power-to-weight ratio of one horsepower per kilo - like the Koenigsegg One:1 - and a kerb weight of less than a tonne.

That’s despite a 60kWh battery weighing it down. The battery cells are arranged around the cockpit rather than the skateboard platform favoured by most EV makers, presumably because the bits underneath (including a big electric fan) are there to stick the car down to the road.

Without loads of wings, ducts and spoilers, the Speirling can generate 500kg of downforce at seemingly any speed. McMurtry calls it ‘downforce on demand’. The bodywork is designed to be as aerodynamically efficient as possible, so as to minimise the amount of energy used.

The car is said to have a 350-mile electric range, or up to 60 minutes runtime on a racetrack. That’s about as much as a Formula E racer, while the company assures us it’ll have the performance of a GT3 car.

Other stats are few and far between. 0-186mph in under nine seconds, a top speed of over 200mph, and safety features to comply with ‘the highest levels of motorsport’ are among the titbits revealed.

The McMurtry Speirling isn’t designed for a specific race series - instead its designers have thrown the rule book out and come up with whatever they fancied. So it doesn’t really matter that the stats feel like they were drawn up in the pub, because this is more of a signal of intent from the five-year-old company. A fully fledged racing car is said to be in the pipeline, and it’s rumoured that the ultimate goal is to create a no-compromise road-legal racer. Because the world can never have enough bonkers electric hypercars, right?

What do you think of the Speirling? Tell us in the comments.