Gordon Murray Dropped the T.33's Automatic Because Only Four People Wanted One

Usually when we hear about gearbox options being dropped from performance cars, it's the manual getting dropped from the option list, not the other way around. Gordon Murray Automotive has dropped the optional automatic transmission from its upcoming V-12-powered T.33 supercar, founder Gordon Murray told Harry's Garage on YouTube.

When GMA revealed the T.33 coupe in January 2022, it confirmed the availability of an optional six-speed sequential-style automatic transmission for those who didn't want the standard six-speed manual. As it turns out, virtually no one was interested in giving up the stick.

"When it came down to it there were three or four people that wanted [the automatic]," Murray told Harry Metcalfe during a tour of the T.33 Spider. "And two of those people had problems with their clutch legs, so they had to have a paddle-shift."

With a planned production run of 200 cars, it would've been near impossible to justify the transmission's development considering the lack of demand. Interestingly, news of the weak interest didn't come until later in the gearbox's development cycle.

"We had a Lotus Evora with the gearbox already working in it," Murray said. "I couldn't have been more stupid. I should've read "driving perfection" and known that the gear change is a huge part of involving the driver."

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