Wed 22 May 2019

An Evening with Professor Gordon Murray CBE – Review

‘One Formula’ Book Launch

Not for the first time this year, the Club’s motoring enthusiasts enjoyed an evening celebrating another car design legend, Professor Gordon Murray CBE.

The evening celebrated Gordon’s latest ambitious project – the result of countless hours of work and hundreds of drawings going into its creation. Not a car, but a book. Published by Porter Press, ‘One Formula – 50 Years of Car Design’ is a two-volume work encompassing nearly all of Gordon’s car designs, of which there are over 80, and our evening celebrated its day of launch.

During the evening, Gordon spoke candidly about his decision to write a book, deeming the 50-year mark as an appropriate milestone. With countless drawings, notes and sketches he was able to record the design story of each car, noting that the most difficult part was choosing what not to include.

During the evening Gordon explained his One Formula philosophy which has run throughout his career. He has always focused on lightweight race cars as the key to helping cars go faster, citing that the combustion engine has almost been pushed to its limits.

The Early Days

The evening was hosted by TV presenter, former Le Mans 24 Hours racing driver and long-term friend of Gordon’s, Alain de Cadenet.

After some motorsport success in South Africa, Gordon sold-up and boarded a converted cargo boat bound for England. It was there Gordon applied for a role at the Lotus Formula 1 team with Colin Chapman but was disappointed to hear that the manufacturer had ran out of funds.

After this setback he joined Brabham under Bernie Ecclestone’s leadership and quickly rose up the ranks. He spoke fondly of his cutting edge BT44B, a design which appeared in the rotunda in celebration of the evening. He also spoke about his other standout designs, including the short lived, but extremely successful, BT46B fan car.

The McLaren Era

Gordon and Alain then spoke about his time spent working at McLaren under Ron Dennis, and for the famous racing duo of Prost and Senna. He recalled his surprise when it was announced they couldn’t begin pre-season testing because Alain Prost had chosen to go skiing. The relaxed discipline of the team proved a big surprise to Gordon!

It was Alain’s turn to reminisce when the conversation moved onto Gordon’s road car designs, and in particular the McLaren F1 car. Alain remembered feeling the full force of the car as it raced to over 230 miles per hour when with him and Gordon in it.

The next big success story for Gordon was his McLaren F1 car competing and winning the at Le Mans 24 Hours race at its very first attempt. The Professor deemed the victory one of his greatest successes, at is demonstrated how good the car was in that it didn’t have to be modified to a huge extent. It was a resounding victory for the team.

Gordon Murray Design

Finally Gordon spoke about his decision to set up his own Design Company, Gordon Murray Design. Now in its twelfth year, the team’s latest iStream technology encompasses the lightweight ‘One Formula’ to help achieve light but robust vehicles. The platform is highly versatile, and can be tailored to fit all engine types, and even autonomous vehicles.

Gordon offered a glimpse into the other vehicles he’s currently working on, including a new autonomous vehicle. He also shared his passion for the Rocket Car built in 1991. Although he didn’t confirm a newer model was on the cards, he did reveal he was running out of reasons not to make a start.

Rotunda Cars

In celebration of the evening, two of Gordon’s designs were placed in the rotunda.

The Brabham BT44B was a Formula 1 car which was driven by Carlos Reutemann and Carlos Pace, in which both of whom achieved a Grand Prix victory.

Also displayed was the first car to be built and raced by Gordon – the IGM Ford T.1. This was his first ever racing car created in his parents’ backyard and raced in sprints, hillclimbs and South African Nation Sports Cars (Class A) before he sold up and boarded a cargo ship for England in 1969.

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Tue 14 May 2019

Gordon Murray presents virtual exhibition of life's work

50 years of automotive design and engineering immortalised in online showcase

Fans can ‘sit’ in Senna’s Formula One car; examine detail of a McLaren F1

Free exhibit goes live in tandem with Murray’s One Formula book launch

Gordon Murray has unveiled a fully-immersive, internet-based virtual exhibition of 40 different iconic race and road cars produced during the past 50 years of his illustrious career in vehicle design and engineering. The online exhibition, which brings to life the private ‘One Formula’ exhibition held in late 2017, is free to access and can be found at www.oneformulagordonmurray.com.

Motorsport fans can ‘walk’ among cars driven by legends including Piquet, Senna and Prost, and even ‘sit’ in the cockpits for a driver’s-eye view. Among the grand prix cars featured are the Brabham BT46B ‘Fan Car’, the BT49C that won the 1981 World Drivers’ Championship in the hands of Nelson Piquet, and the McLaren MP4/4, which Ayrton Senna drove to his first Drivers’ Championship victory in 1988.

Visitors can also explore the McLaren F1 – still the world’s fastest naturally-aspirated road car, and its celebrated Le Mans racing siblings. Other famed Murray projects showcased include the OX flat pack truck, the TVR Griffith and the revolutionary iStream® platform manufacturing technologies.

Professor Gordon Murray, CBE, said: “It is such thrill to share my passion for engineering purity, beautiful design, aerodynamic excellence, and technological innovation. Creating an exhibition in a free-to-view format, accessible to all, in stunning virtual reality is exciting and a source of great pride.

“For the One Formula exhibition, we gathered almost every race and road car from my 50-year career to date, and we were inundated with requests from fans across the world who wanted to visit. Being a short-term, private exhibition meant we couldn’t share our passion with these enthusiasts. So, doing so in virtual form is the next best thing!”

The launch of the free virtual exhibition coincides with the launch of Murray’s ‘One Formula’ book, a two-volume, 900-page epic that charts in detail the ideas, personal perspectives, triumphs and records achieved over 50 years of automotive design and engineering.

Those who explore every corner of the detailed and fascinating online showcase will see information and exhibits covering the design, engineering, prototyping and development of vehicles by Gordon Murray Design Limited. By scrutinising the principles Murray has applied across his career, visitors may piece-together the blueprint for a forthcoming supercar – which is currently under top secret development.

-Ends-

Professor Gordon Murray, CBE – biography

Gordon Murray was born in Durban, South Africa in 1946 and gained a Mechanical Engineering Diploma from Natal Technical College. He designed, built and raced his own sports car (the IGM Ford) in the National Class in South Africa during 1967 and 1968.

In 1969 Gordon moved to the UK and joined the Brabham Formula One Team as Technical Director, winning two world championships (1981 and 1983) during his 17 years with the team. Gordon joined McLaren Racing as Technical Director in 1988 and three consecutive championship wins (1988, 1989 and 1990) followed. In 1990, Gordon moved away from Formula One – after 50 Grand Prix wins – to concentrate on establishing a new company for the group, McLaren Cars Limited.

The company’s first project, the F1 road car, is still regarded as one of the world’s best engineered cars. A racing version won two world sports car championships and the Le Mans 24-hour race on its first attempt in 1995. McLaren Cars then completed several other successful projects culminating in the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren programme.

Gordon left McLaren in 2005 to set up his new company Gordon Murray Design Limited (in 2007), of which he is CEO and Technical Director. The innovative British company operates from Shalford in Surrey, and aims to be the world leader in automotive design. It reverses the current industry trend for sub-contracting by having a complete in-house capability for design, prototyping and development.

In 2017, Gordon Murray Design celebrated the company’s 10-year anniversary along with that of the iStream® manufacturing process. At a special event, named ‘One Formula’ Gordon Murray also celebrated the 25th anniversary of the McLaren F1 road car entering production, and his 50th year of car design and engineering.

In May 2019, Professor Murray was made a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) by the Duke of Cambridge, Prince William. The ceremony, held at Buckingham Palace, recognised the contributions made by Murray to the motorsport and automotive sectors over the past 50 years.

PR contacts

For further information, images or comment about the Gordon Murray Group, please contact:

Jon Visscher

PFPR Communications

Jon.Visscher@pfpr.com

01622 776 680 / 07816 906 794

Sarah Smith, Communications Officer

Gordon Murray Design

sarah.smith@gordonmurraydesign.com

01483 484 710

Virtual exhibition by Insight Simulation

Contact David Hothersall

david@insightsimulation.com

www.insightsimulation.com

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