"The Speedtail was the perfect muse": $3.5 million McLaren supercar inspires a one-off guitar build

We love the McClaren Speedtail and we love electric guitars; Miami luthier Dean Gordon clearly does too, but he also has the skills to blend those two worlds to create a one-off custom instrument inspired by the $3.5 million ultra-exclusive Hyper-GT. 

Whether the Virtus guitar can reach the same 250mph speeds as the XP2 prototype Speedtail will be dependent on the player, but the ergonomic headless build is certainly sleek, made from old stock lightweight alder with aluminium lower horn and a master-grade flamed maple neck with ebony fretboard. 

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The guitar nods to it inspiration with carbon fiber backplate, a hand-stitched leather lower horn cover, and leather detailing inside the guitar's wiring cavities that match the XP2’s Oxblood Red upholstery. Moreover, the body finish is inspired by the XP2's Saragon Quartz paint, and the neck matches the car's satin carbon door sills by using black satin with carbon fiber laminate on the back of the headstock. 

Even the Virtus's pickup covers are laser etched to match the Speedtail’s engine cover and rear exterior details, and additional red accents were added to the guitar to further complement XP2’s interior.

“McLaren being synonymous with cutting-edge design and pushing boundaries made it a no-brainer choice of inspiration for my ‘Automotive’ inspired line of guitars," says Dean. "These guitars are my artistic exercise, where I not only try to make the best playing and sounding guitars possible, but to put an artistic flare on them beyond what I normally do. The Speedtail was the perfect muse.”

For more information visit Dean Morgan Guitars