Citizendia

This article is about the car designer. For other people named Gordon Murray, see Gordon Murray (disambiguation). Gordon Murray may refer to Gordon Murray, South African car designer Gordon Murray Sr

(Ian) Gordon Murray (born 1946 in Durban, South Africa) is a renowned designer of Formula One race cars and the famous McLaren F1 'supercar' road car. Year 1946 ( MCMXLVI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full 1946 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Durban (eThekwini is the third most populous city in South Africa, forming part of the EThekwini metropolitan municipality. The Republic of South Africa (also known by other official names) is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa The McLaren F1 was formerly the fastest street legal production car in the world holding this record from 1994 to 2005 the longest period the record has been held

Contents

Early Life

Gordon Murray grew up in a motor racing milieu in Durban, South Africa - his father was a motorcycle racer and later prepared racing cars. Gordon studied mechanical engineering at Natal Technical College (now Durban University of Technology, which made Murray an Honorary Professor in 2002). The Durban University of Technology is a technical university in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. He built and raced his own car, the IGM Ford, in the South African National Class during 1967 and 1968.

Formula One Career

He moved to England in 1969, hoping to find a job at Lotus Cars. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Year 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Lotus Cars is a British manufacturer of sports and racing cars based at Hethel, Norfolk, England. Soon afterward, however, Murray was offered a job at Brabham after coincidentally meeting Ron Tauranac (the then Brabham designer). Origins The Brabham team was founded by Jack Brabham and Ron Tauranac, who met in 1951 while both were successfully building and racing cars in their native Ron Tauranac was the Australian designer for Formula 1 driver Jack Brabham from 1962 until Brabham's retirement as a driver at the end of the 1970 season When Bernie Ecclestone took over the Brabham team he appointed Murray as Chief Designer. Bernard Charles "Bernie" Ecclestone (born 28 October 1930 near Bungay Suffolk, England) is the president and CEO of There he designed many Grand Prix cars, some of which were World Championship winners. Grand Prix motor racing has its roots in organised automobile racing that began in France as far back as 1894 These designs include the extraordinary BT46B, also known as "the Brabham fan car", as well as the World Championship winning BT49 and BT52. The Brabham BT46 was a Formula One Racing car, designed by Gordon Murray for the Brabham team owned by Bernie Ecclestone, for the The Brabham BT49 was a ground effect Formula One car designed by Gordon Murray for the Brabham team The Brabham BT52 was a Formula 1 car designed for the Brabham team by South African Gordon Murray for the 1983 F1 season

Between 1973 and 1985 Murray’s Brabhams scored 22 Grand Prix wins, finished 2nd in the Constructors' Championship in 1975 and 1981, and gave Nelson Piquet Drivers’ Championships in 1981 and 1983. Nelson Piquet Souto Maior (born August 17, 1952) more commonly known as Nelson Piquet, is a Brazilian former racing driver who was Formula [1]

However, 1986 proved to be a disaster. Murray designed a radical and highly ambitious low-line Brabham BT55 in an effort to lower overall ride height, but the race car itself was not a success. The Brabham BT55 was a Formula One racing car designed by Gordon Murray and David North for the Brabham team owned by Bernie Ecclestone. At the end of the year Murray left Brabham and joined McLaren as Technical Director. McLaren, founded in 1963 by New Zealander Bruce McLaren (1937&ndash1970 is a Formula One team based in Woking, Surrey, UK

Learning from his low-line Brabham experience, his 1988 Honda-powered McLaren MP4/4 won 15 of the 16 Grands Prix, and gave Ayrton Senna his first Drivers' Championship. Honda Racing F1 Team is a Formula One team run by Japanese car manufacturer Honda. The McLaren MP4/4 was the most dominant car in the history of Formula One. Ayrton Senna da Silva ( pronounced, March 21, 1960 &ndash May 1, 1994) was a Brazilian racing driver and triple In the Constructors' Championship McLaren's points score of 199 was (at that time) an all-time high. Over the period 1988-91 the McLaren team won four consecutive Constructors' and Drivers' Championships: Alain Prost won the Drivers' Championship in 1989, Senna won further Drivers' Championships in 1990 and 1991. Alain Marie Pascal Prost, OBE (born 24 February 1955 is a French racing driver [2]

Other Projects

Murray at Gordon Murray Design
Murray at Gordon Murray Design

From 1991-2004 Murray headed up the off-shoot McLaren Cars team to design road-going supercars: the McLaren F1 and the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren. McLaren Automotive (previously McLaren Cars) is an English Automaker established in 1989 with the object of producing road cars based on Formula The McLaren F1 was formerly the fastest street legal production car in the world holding this record from 1994 to 2005 the longest period the record has been held The Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren is an Anglo - German Sports car jointly developed by Mercedes-Benz and McLaren Automotive, built in

Murray also independently designed the Rocket, an ultra-lightweight, open cockpit roadster powered by a 1-litre motorcycle engine, which has an appearance similar to that of a 60's era Grand Prix car. It was built by former racing driver Chris Craft at the Light Car Company. Christopher Craft (born in Porthleven, Cornwall, November 17, 1939) is a British racing driver who has competed in many different

Murray has been appointed director of advanced concepts at Caparo Vehicle Products[3], and is part of Project Kimber, a group who are redesigning the Smart Roadster to be rebranded as an AC. The Caparo T1 is a British mid-engine rear-wheel drive, two-seat Automobile built by Caparo Vehicle Technologies, founded by design director Project Kimber is the industry group which has bought the rights to manufacture the recently discontinued Smart Roadster in South Wales under the AC Cars name The Smart Roadster is a two-door Microcar first introduced in 2003 by Smart GmbH. AC Cars Group Ltd formerly known as Auto Carriers Ltd is a British specialist Automobile manufacturer and one of the oldest independent car marques

Murray is also a regular columnist for the performance oriented British Evo Magazine, and a contributing editor for American Road & Track. Evo is a British Automobile magazine dedicated to performance cars from Hot hatches to Supercars The first issue was produced A contributing editor is a Magazine job title that varies in responsibilities Road & Track is an Automobile enthusiast Magazine in the United States, founded by two friends in 1947 [4]

In July 2007 the Gordon Murray Design [1] consultancy was established, and released initial details regarding its upcoming T25 (Type 25) prototype city car along with mention of a future lightweight, economical supercar project. A city car (or urban car) is a small moderately powered Automobile intended for use in Urban areas It is comparable in size and features to a [5][6]

References

  1. ^ F1 Team & Drivers Hall of Fame: Nelson Piquet. FIA. Retrieved on 2007-10-24. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 69 - Second Battle of Bedriacum, forces under Antonius Primus the commander of the Danube armies loyal to Vespasian, defeat
  2. ^ F1 Team & Drivers Hall of Fame: Ayrton Senna. FIA. Retrieved on 2007-10-24. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 69 - Second Battle of Bedriacum, forces under Antonius Primus the commander of the Danube armies loyal to Vespasian, defeat
  3. ^ http://www.motorauthority.com/news/supercars/gordon-murray-joins-team-caparo/
  4. ^ http://www.roadandtrack.com/article.asp?section_id=25&article_id=3087
  5. ^ http://www.gordonmurraydesign.com/LN_T25.html
  6. ^ http://www.channel4.com/4car/news/news-story.jsp?news_id=16289&intcmp=rss_4car_news

External links

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