This wasn't an April Fool's joke. And even less so a special effect. A few days ago, the manufacturer McMurtry demonstrated that a vehicle could roll upside down using only the suction force generated by its integrated ventilation system. The Spéirling, a 1,000-hp electric racing car that already holds several track records, was attached to a custom-designed rotating platform. Once inverted, it was able to move forward, literally suspended from the ceiling, without the aid of any support.
An extraordinary technical feat
“It was a rather unusual day at work,” said humorously Thomas Yates, co-founder and CEO of McMurtry, who himself sat behind the wheel for this unique experience. “Driving in that position was completely surreal.” The onboard ventilation system, capable of generating up to 2,000 kg of downforce allowed the car to stay pressed against the structure, even when stationary.
This slightly crazy test had a very clear objective: to prove that the downforce generated by the system does not need speed to work. Unlike a Formula 1 car, which relies on high-speed airflow to "stick" to the track, the Spéirling acts like a giant vacuum cleaner. Two electric turbines rotating at 23,000 revolutions per minute create a vacuum under the chassis and pin the vehicle to the ground... or the ceiling.
The feat is part of an impressive series of records set by the Spéirling over the past year. In April 2025, it beat the Top Gear test track benchmark time by 55.9 seconds - more than three seconds faster than a Renault R24 Formula 1 car. At Laguna Seca, it smashed the electric vehicle record with a time of 1:18.413. At Hockenheim, it turned 14 seconds faster than the fastest non-F1 car to date. Even the British circuit of Castle Combe saw its F3 record fall to this electric rocket.
In terms of acceleration, the figures are dizzying: 0 to 60 mph (96 km/h) in 1.40 seconds, 0 to 100 mph (160 km/h) in 2.63 seconds. That's better than the Rimac Nevera and even the Bugatti Chiron. And all this in relative silence... if we forget the infernal din of the turbines, whose howl makes a lawnmower pass by turf for a lullaby.
The McMurtry team hopes to go even further. Thomas Yates is already talking about the possibility of running the Spéirling upside down for a longer distance, or even in a specially designed curved tunnel. The idea isn't so far-fetched: enthusiasts like Scott Mansell (aka Driver61) are working on a similar project with a car modified to run upside down in a tube.
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