Twenty Questions
SUBJECT Gordon Murray
OCCUPATION CEO & Technical Director, Gordon Murray Design
What is your greatest achievement? Winning Le Mans with a road car.
What is your biggest regret? That we didn’t drive the GTR home from Le Mans after the win.
Whose work in the industry today do you admire most and why? Paul Roche (of BMW), because he built the best road car engine that has ever been made.
Who inspired you to join the industry and why? My father in the early ’50sI used to hang around when he was building racing specials. I never wanted to be anything other than a racing driver.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given? “Don’t say no until you have to” Bernie Ecclestone.
What’s the biggest challenge you’re facing in the next 12 months? Selling as many iStream licences as possible.
What car do you drive for fun? 1968 Lotus Elan, Rocket, 1959 Sprite, motorbike.
When did you last go for a drive for the sake of it, and where? The Surrey Hills this year in a replica Porsche 550 Spyder.
What’s the best moment you’ve had in a car? Winning my first race in my home-built IGM Ford in 1967.
What was your first car? 1956 Hillman Minx.
Did you pass your driving test at the first attempt? Yes, on my 18th birthday! (The legal age in South Africa was 18.)
How will cars be powered in 30 years time? Electric drive with fuel cells or range extender ICE.
It’s your last drive. One car, one road. What and where? Lotus Elan, Scottish Highlands.
What music do you listen to in the car? 1960s rock and pop.
What’s the best book about cars or car people you’ve ever read? Tazio Nuvolari biography.
When did you first have the idea for the T25 City car? In 1993, sitting in London-bound A3 traffic going nowhere.
As concisely as possible, can you explain the iStream production process? iStream0 is a complete rethink on high-volume car manufacturing. It’s low cost, low investment, low energy and very flexible.
When will we be able to buy a T25? Two years after someone buys the programme.
How far away is the T27 electric car? We’ll have a running prototype in April 2011 production could be 2013.
Do you still have any interest in F1 or designing racing cars of any type? I am interested in F1 from a peripheral point of view I am still very interested in designing race cars. I’d like to put something back into the sport with some sort of educational low-cost formula.