Gordon Murray joins Group Lotus Advisory Council

It may have been a little more than 40 years late, but the reason Gordon Murray moved to England for in 1969 has finally materialized into a potentially world-changing partnership. The man who earned fame and fortune designing Formula 1 cars first for Brabham and then for McLaren for over three decades, Murray’s aim all those years back was to find a job at Lotus cars. A decorated F1 career, the McLaren F1 and the T.25 and T.27 compact cars later, Gordon Murray has now been appointed on the Group Lotus Advisory Council. The Council comprises of a long list of industry greats including Bob Lutz, Tom Purves, Prof. Dr. Burkhard Goschel and Frank Tuch that advises Group Lotus on future products and development.

Group Lotus was established by the legendary Colin Chapman and over its existence has churned out some iconic lightweight vehicles that have exemplified handling and driving pleasure. It is also a very British company in its essence and both traits are something Gordon Murray openly shares with the company. Back when he was designing the McLaren F1, lightness was a key factor, as was power – after all, the F1 was built to a purpose. Since then Murray has founded Gordon Murray Design to develop and innovative and disruptive automotive manufacturing technology trademarked iStream which was validated by the T-concepts – ultra compact cars that focus on efficiency on all fronts. Murray’s affiliation with the Lotus Advisory Council will not affect his functioning of the Gordon Murray Design though and considering the shared obsession between Lotus and Murray, we can only look forward to some more automotive perfection from the British.

Commenting on the appointment Group Lotus Chief Executive Dany Bahar said: "Gordon has never been afraid to trail blaze, take risks and do things differently, these are attribute that we are very familiar with and very proud of at Lotus. With his incredible and unique motorsport and design experience he will complement the existing council line up perfectly. We're very much looking forward to working with him."

Gordon Murray said: "For years I've been a huge admirer of Lotus, I have great respect for the legacy that Colin Chapman created and I think what Dany and the team are doing is a really good thing for the brand. He's taking the strength from Chapman's principals and taking the business to the next level whilst still keeping the general ethos – not an easy task! I'm really looking forward to contributing to Group Lotus during this exciting time."