McMurtry just flipped the script on what a car can do—literally—by becoming the first to drive a hypercar upside down from a standstill. The all-electric McMurtry Spéirling has made history as the first car to achieve inverted driving, powered by its groundbreaking fan-based Downforce-on-Demand™ system.
The stunt, performed at McMurtry’s Gloucestershire headquarters, wasn’t just a bold party trick—it was a proof of concept decades in the making. Co-founder and Managing Director Thomas Yates got behind the wheel for the record-setting feat, which took place on a specially built, rotating rig in front of employees and independent adjudicators. And yes, there’s video proof. (You need to see it.)
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While F1 fans have long speculated that certain race cars could drive upside down thanks to extreme levels of aerodynamic downforce at speed, no one has actually done it—until now. The Spéirling’s proprietary fan system generates up to 2,000kg of downforce from a standstill. That’s more than enough to overcome gravity and literally suck the car to a surface above it.
This incredible level of grip means the car doesn’t need airflow over wings like traditional racecars. Instead, it creates a vacuum underneath the chassis, allowing it to accelerate, brake, and corner like no other car on Earth—or in this case, above it.
For the demonstration, the Spéirling climbed a ramp onto a rotating platform, which then flipped the car upside down. Once inverted, Yates confidently drove the hypercar forward, completely unsupported by anything other than the raw power of the fan system.
The upside-down stunt isn’t even the only headline McMurtry made this week. The Spéirling also just smashed the all-time record on the Top Gear Test Track—beating a V10-powered Formula 1 car by a staggering 3.1 seconds. Add that to its previous titles at the Goodwood Festival of Speed and Laguna Seca Corkscrew Hillclimb, and the Spéirling is quickly becoming the most dominant force in electric hypercar performance.
“Strapping in and driving inverted was a completely surreal experience,” said Yates. “The 2000kg of downforce is truly astonishing and it’s great to show why our Spéirling continues to take records around the world.”
McMurtry is gearing up for production of the Spéirling PURE, with only 100 units planned. Customer deliveries are set for 2026, and the production model will include a beefier 100kWh battery pack that enables up to 20 minutes of GT3-level track performance or several record-breaking hot laps. The battery tech uses P50B Molicel 21700 cells for maximum power and density.
The car used for the gravity-defying demonstration was the Spéirling PURE Validation Prototype 1 (VP1), finished in a striking falcon-inspired camouflage—a nod to McMurtry’s original 2021 fan car and its logo, the peregrine falcon (a fitting mascot, being the fastest creature on Earth).
Despite the wild visuals, safety remains paramount. The Spéirling meets motorsport standards akin to LMP1 endurance racecars. Its unique ability to generate downforce at any speed—even during spins or loss of control—means it can scrub speed almost instantly, often preventing off-track excursions entirely.
As McMurtry continues the late Sir David McMurtry’s legacy of relentless innovation, the Spéirling is proving that the future of performance isn’t just electric—it’s mind-bendingly imaginative.
The question first whispered by fans back in 2021—“Can it drive upside down?”—has finally been answered. And not just with speculation, but with a jaw-dropping stunt that will go down as one of the most audacious feats in automotive history.
When the Spéirling finally reaches customers, it won’t just be the fastest EV on the track—it’ll be the first car that proved gravity is just another obstacle to conquer.
