Gordon Murray to celebrate 60 years at Goodwood Festival

Professor Gordon Murray, the SA-born engineering power house and founder of the Gordon Murray Automotive (GMA) brand, is celebrating 60 years of excellence as the central feature marque at the 2025 Goodwood Festival of Speed from July 10-13.

From 1965 to 2025, Murray has delivered vehicles that exhibit driving perfection, engineering art and innovative lightweight design. Throughout the FOS, GMA’s modern-day supercars will share the stage with a host of Murray-designed road and race cars spanning 60-years.

His projects include some 20 Brabham F1 cars — including the famous “fan car” that the late Niki Lauda drove to victory in the 1978 Swedish Grand Prix — and a host of McLaren F1 cars, and the McLaren MP4/4 car that gave Ayrton Senna his first F1 Championship in 1988. 

Modern projects include the T.25 city car and the GMA T.50 and T.33 range of supercars with central placing of steering-wheels and powered by naturally-aspirated Cosworth V12 engines paired with autos or manual transmissions.

But perhaps the seminal moment in Murray’s career came in 1998 when the McLaren F1 he designed set the Guinness World Record for the world’s fastest production car, reaching 386.4km/h.

The Central Feature Marque

Designed by the British artist and designer Gerry Judah in 1997, the central feature marque at the Goodwood FOS is the focal point for the biggest celebrations at the Festival of Speed. Each year, car manufacturers take turns to partner with Judah to create unique and memorable sculptures. 

Below is the list of manufacturers who have used the feature to celebrate milestones. 

• 1997: 50 years of Ferrari
• 1998: 50 years of Porsche
• 1999: 90 years of Audi
• 2000: Jaguar's return to Formula One
• 2001: 100 years of Mercedes-Benz
• 2002: Renault's return to Formula 1 as a constructor
• 2003: 50 years of Ford
• 2004: 100 years of Rolls-Royce
• 2005: 40 years of Honda Grand Prix success
• 2006: 100 years of Renault in Grands Prix
• 2007: 50 years of Toyota in motorsport
• 2008: 60 years of Land Rover
• 2009: 100 years of Audi

• 2010: 100 years of Alfa Romeo
• 2011: 50 years of the Jaguar E-type
• 2012: 60 years of Lotus
• 2013: 50 years of the Porsche 911
• 2014: 120 years of Mercedes-Benz in Motorsport
• 2016: 40 years of BMW M 
• 2017: Bernie Ecclestone
• 2018: 70 years of Porsche
• 2022: 50 years of BMW M GmbH’s 
• 2023: 70 years of Porsche
• 2024: 100 years of MG
• 2025: 60 years of design and engineering by Professor Gordon Murray.

“For 60 years I have enjoyed the design and engineering challenge of pushing the boundaries of what’s possible — be that in racing or road cars,” said Murray.

“The supercars that Gordon Murray Automotive builds today are inspired by every car I’ve designed, raced, and owned. Lightweight design, innovative use of materials, the latest technologies and even bending the laws of physics come into all we do.”