F1 HISTORY By Graham Duxbury @ TheRealDux
GORDON MURRAY: SA’ S DESIGN MASTERMINDS
In the world of automotive design Gordon Murray is an acknowledged genius. Born in Durban, South Africa in 1946, he has penned such brilliant Formula One cars as the 1983 Brabham-BMW BT52- the first turbo-charged Grand Prix car to win the World Driver’ s Championship- and the McLaren Honda MP4 / 4, one of the most dominant machines ever to race.
Graham Duxbury is a former professional racing driver, celebrated SA champion and acclaimed motorsport administrator and commentator. A South African Hall of Fame Inductee, he made history in 1984 by winning the famous Daytona 24-hour sports car race in the USA in an all-South African team. Today, he heads Duxbury Networking, a leading IT company.
a clean-sheet of paper to the first car off the production line in just 43 months.
Today a well-kept McLaren F1 sports car is worth in the region of $ 27 million.
In addition to the F1 sports car, Gordon was responsible for the design and production of its successor, the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren.
After completing his education at the Durban University of Technology where he was later awarded an honorary professorship- Gordon set his sights on the world of motor racing. He left his homeland for the UK which was the acknowledged epicentre of this world in 1971.
Amazingly, he landed his first job at the Brabham F1 design studio, working for none other than former F1 supremo, Bernie Ecclestone, who owned the team at the time.
Gordon s career at Brabham stretched for 17 years, during which time he designed many great cars including the Brabham BT44, the BT49 and BT52- Between 1973 and 1985 Gordon’ s Brabhams scored 22 GP wins.
Also, during this period, he introduced many new and innovative ideas to F1. Two of them, the use of tyre warmers to bring tyres up to race temperature before fitment, and strategic refuelling at mid-race pit stops, were both race-winning strategic innovations.
Another innovation, the Brabham BT56B Alfa Romeo, known as the fan-car was introduced at the 1978 Swedish GP. The car generated an immense amount of downforce utilising a fan, extracting air from beneath the car. The BT56B raced only once, and won, but was voluntary withdrawn after teams complained.
Nevertheless, the idea was seen as an example of his superb lateral thinking and problem-solving ability.
Murray was lured away from Brabham at the end of the 1986 season to join rivals McLaren. Here, as chief designer, he began one the most successful periods of his career.
This design tour de force featured a 5.5 litre V8 supercharged engine hand-built by AMG. It delivered 617 hp and was capable of propelling the SLR to a top speed of over 320 km / h- with acceleration and performance to match.
Gordon later established the Light Car Company, with its first public offering being the Rocket, an open cockpit roadster powered by a 1000cc motorcycle engine.
It was made in accordance with Gordon s own design philosophy of lightweight construction and design simplicity- which mirrors that of the late Colin Chapman of Lotus fame.
In 2017 Gordon founded Gordon Murray Automotive( GMA) in Surrey, England, specialising in high-performance, lightweight supercars that emphasise driver engagement and analogue control over modern digital aids
Currently, the GMA portfolio consists of four supercars, the T. 50, T. 50s, T. 33 and T. 33 Spider. They are all driver focused and timeless in style. They are powered by a naturally-aspirated, 3.9 litre Cosworth GMA. 2 V12 engine, the world s lightest and most technically advanced road-going V12.
In the 2019 New Year Honours list Murray was awarded a CBE for services to motoring and in 2022 he was awarded the inaugural FIA President ' s Innovation Medal, for his constant innovative approach to race and road car design.
Fittingly, in 2024 he was awarded the BBC Top Gear Lifetime Achievement Award as‘ arguably the greatest and most original thinker in both F1 and the wider automotive sphere’.
In 1988 the McLaren team won 15 of the 16 GPs held that year, giving Ayrton Senna his first drivers ' title. Three more championship successes followed- for Alain Prost in 1989 and Senna again in 1990 and 1991.
Having achieved all there was to achieve in F1, Gordon turned his attention to road car design and the beautiful McLaren F1 sports car was the result.
That this car, initially designed with no thought of on-track competition, was to win at Le Mans underlines the strength of Gordon s initial concept.
Working with only seven full-time assistants and with help from occasional contract workers( the team never exceeded 10 people), Gordon took the 320 km / h, $ 1-million BMW V12-powered car from
Gordon Murray behind the wheel of one of his new supercars- the GMA T50. Photocredit: gordonmurrayautomotive. com
WORDS IN ACTION 34 MAY 2026