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View Full Version : Gordon Murray wants to make another sports car...and maybe a super one



Kchrpm
June 16th, 2014, 07:53 AM
http://jalopnik.com/mclaren-f1-designer-talks-smack-about-the-p1-and-hybrid-1591394382

Which summarizes and links to an interview here: http://grrc.goodwood.com/road/news/qa-hankering-one-supercar-wouldnt-unless-hybrid-monsters-hadnt-come


So no more sports cars?

Nothing could be further from the truth. Gordon Murray Design became known for city cars because that’s what we did first. But now we are working on big cars, saloons, even an off-road truck – as well as a pure driver’s car, a proper little sports car that’s fun and affordable. Nothing like the monsters that some companies are building.

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If you were doing the F1 today what would it be like?

Still a pure driver’s car in the mould of the F1 but with more modern technology, brakes and tyres. If you look at the acceleration figures – it’s very easy to do the calculations – an F1 on modern rubber, with traction control, launch control and seamless gearchanging would be as quick as LaFerrari.

I have a hankering to do one more supercar, and I wouldn’t have unless these one-and-a-half-tonne hybrid monsters hadn’t come out. I would have left it with the F1. But now there’s a point to be proven: that you can still do a great driver’s car with an internal combustion engine and pure engineering.

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What’s still on Gordon Murray’s to-do list?

I am desperate to get my affordable sports car to (low-volume) production. There’s such a gap in the market for it. What is it like? Simple, normally aspirated, light weight, rear drive, very stiff and strong with its composite construction. It’s the antidote to the P1 or LaFerrari.

:up: :up: :up: :up: :up: :up:

Crazed_Insanity
June 16th, 2014, 08:30 AM
Sounds good! (Except I'm not sure if it's possible to do affordable and low-volume at the same time...)

For me, affordable means around $30k. But I'm pretty sure for him, it's probably double or triple what I think would be affordable?

Anyway, I shall wait and see...

Kchrpm
June 16th, 2014, 09:38 AM
Yeah, "affordable" is a sliding scale for sure.

Random
June 16th, 2014, 10:00 AM
So he wants to redo the Elise?

Or make a carbon-tub Miata? :)

Kchrpm
June 16th, 2014, 10:29 AM
His company apparently focuses on non-carbon procedures.


Some sports cars made today with a single-skin carbon chassis boast about using F1 materials – people do tend to have a fixation about carbon-fibre. But this is completely the wrong way to use carbon. It’s not F1 materials that are important to iStream but F1 technology in the form of composite structures – two skins and a honeycomb. That’s how you get light weight and strength. iStream makes these structures without using expensive carbon in a way that’s easy and affordable for mass production.

Their first product aside from the City Car (I don't know if that was ever even sold to the public) seems to be the Yamaha MOTIV.e

http://www.gordonmurraydesign.com/previous/press.php


The iStream® design is centred on a steel frame incorporating bonded composite monocoque panels to produce a lightweight, rigid safety cell.

Random
June 16th, 2014, 10:43 AM
Neat!