Racing Car Designer Gordon Murray Has Exactly One Idea

The promise of the Gordon Murray T.50 was brilliant. The engineering savant behind the McLaren F1, Gordon Murray, would return with his own company to make the next ultimate driver’s machine. He would take everything he’d learned since then and make a new car, fixing everything he didn’t like about what is now considered one of the greatest cars of all time.Though it wasn’t the most handsome car in the world, the T.50 seemingly delivered on that promise. It kept the F1’s three-seat layout, petite frame, and light weight and paired them with an all-new, screaming, naturally aspirated V-12 and a manual gearbox. It seemed spectacular. Part of what made it special, too, was that this was the start of a brand-new company. Though the T.50 was a spiritual successor to the F1, Gordon Murray Automotive would make other models, and Mr. Murray promised the T.50 would be its halo car. It wasn’t just an exciting model, but a promise of exciting new cars to come.Yet, in the years since, Mr. Murray has used various cop-outs to keep building variants on this formula, models that grow more expensive and closer and closer to the F1. And so, at The Quail this year, Gordon Murray Special Vehicles unveiled the S1. Developed from the S1 LM platform, Gordon Murray Special Vehicles will make only 64 S1s — matching the 64 standard F1 road cars — and they’re all sold out. The company has not disclosed the price. The T.50 shared the ethos of the F1; the S1 is a modern remake of the design.Gordon Murray S1. Courtesy of Gordon MurrayGordon Murray S1. Courtesy of Gordon MurrayGordon Murray S1. Courtesy of Gordon MurrayMechanically, this is an incredible car. In the middle is a Cosworth-built, naturally aspirated 4.2-liter V-12 producing up to 681 horsepower at 12,100 rpm, with 80 percent of its torque available from 2,500 rpm. That power goes to the rear wheels through a proper six-speed manual, and the car is as petite as the T.50, so it should drive brilliantly.And it looks stunning. It’s one of the best-looking supercars unveiled in a long time, taking every detail of the F1 and making it tighter, sharper, and neater.Gordon Murray S1. Courtesy of Gordon MurrayGordon Murray S1. Courtesy of Gordon MurrayBut it’s just so conceptually lazy compared to what Mr. Murray ought to be making. He has an almost limitless pot of money to make special, expensive cars and instead is just retracing the F1’s path, probably because that car is now among the most valuable ever made.But though Mr. Murray was the engineering genius behind the F1, the shape is not really his to keep remaking. McLaren built the car, not GMA; Mr. Murray led its concept and engineering, but Peter Stevens styled its exterior and interior — not Mr. Murray. Even this is a spin on a different F1 tribute whose initial proposal came from another designer.The S1 is based on the GMA S1 LM, unveiled last year as a customer-commissioned tribute to the F1 GTR. But it did not come from Mr. Murray alone. Instead, the customer hired designer Florian Flatau to turn his ideas into a proposal for GMA, then collaborated with Mr. Murray and the company’s team on the finished car. With the S1, the company changed the details but kept the spirit of that winged car intact. And it’s not clear whether Mr. Flatau was involved — GMA’s announcement doesn’t say.It’s a beautiful, special car, and it’s cool that it’s being made. But it’s also too obvious, too lazy, and too money-grabbing compared to what Mr. Murray ought to be making instead.Gordon Murray S1. Courtesy of Gordon Murray

Racing Car Designer Gordon Murray Has Exactly One Idea

Racing Car Designer Gordon Murray Has Exactly One Idea

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