The McMurtry Speirling is 14.1s faster than the Mercedes-AMG One around Hockenheim

Surprise surprise, the tiny McMurtry Speirling has set another record. This one happened at Germany’s Hockenheim circuit, with a run of 1m 24.43s making for a new closed-wheel time. It’s also over 14 seconds quicker than the Mercedes-AMG One can get around. Nuts.

Impressively, the Speirling was only running at 75 per cent power and downforce. It does make you wonder what would be possible when everything is eventually cranked up to 100 - or rather, how much of the driver’s breakfast would… you know.

The powertrain itself is a dual electric motor unit, which fires around 1,000bhp to the single-seater’s rear wheels. That may not sound particularly astonishing in today’s world of EV Top Trumps cards, but the Speirling weighs less than a tonne. It also produces as much downforce as Jupiter does gravity when that rear-mounted fan starts to spin.

Put all this together, and you can see why McMurtry is keen to continue to aim for other global circuit records throughout 2024 and into 2025. We look forward to its run at the fearsome Harlow Greyhound Stadium.