The Gordon Murray Le Mans GTR XP1 has made its dynamic debut at the Circuit de la Sarthe, the 13.6km site of the iconic Le Mans 24 endurance race. The racing green super car prototype with a longtail form appeared for the first time driven by four times IndyCar series champion Dario Franchitti, at the Le Mans Classic held from July 2-5, an annual vintage motorsport festival celebrating endurance racing.The car developed by the Gordon Murray Special Vehicles (GMSV) team for road and track usage draws inspiration from iconic race cars from the 1970s, 80s and 90s, blending modern and performance-led aerodynamics with a Cosworth-developed V12 engine with a 12,100 rpm limit, and a six-speed manual transmission, staying true to Murray’s preference for authentic and analogous driver engagement.South Africa-born Murray was invited to formally start the Le Mans Classic race, waving the French tricolour flag from the start gantry above the pit straight after the demonstration laps of Murray-designed cars was complete.“My passion for longtail racing cars goes back decades — their blend of engineering purpose and aesthetic balance has always fascinated me. To see the Le Mans GTR, a car inspired by those machines, driving on this circuit for the first time was a very special moment,” said Murray. Founder and engineer Gordon Murray says the sleek longtail shape is his favourite. (GMSV) The prototype was showcased alongside other current and future GMSV cars, including: Gordon Murray T.50s Niki Lauda XP3 — Track-only prototype;Gordon Murray T.33 VP12 — Validation prototype in T.33 VP12; F1 GTR Shorttail 16R (Fina livery) — Le Mans-spec McLaren F1 GTR from the 1996 24 Hours of Le Mans;F1 GTR Shorttail (Lark livery, x2) — Championship-winning All‑Japan GT Championship cars from 1996;Duckhams LM Ford — Lightweight Murray-designed Le Mans racer from 1972;Brabham BT49B — Championship-winning Formula 1 car from the 1981 season;Brabham BT44B (Martini livery) — Iconic mid‑1970s Brabham racer; andBrabham BT42 (Richard Mille) — Early Gordon Murray-designed chassis.A limited series of just 24 GMSV Le Mans GTR supercars will be built, all of which have been sold. The first customer cars are set for completion in 2027. The Gordon Murray team will return to the UK for the Goodwood Festival of Speed on July 9-12.Business Day