Goodwood is delighted to announce that the Central Feature at this year’s Festival of Speed presented by Mastercard will celebrate Gordon Murray Automotive (GMA) and the phenomenal contribution to automotive design and engineering made by Professor Gordon Murray CBE over the last 60 years.
Taking pride of place in front of Goodwood House, and at the very heart of the Festival of Speed, Gerry Judah’s monumental sculptures have become synonymous with motorsport’s ultimate summer garden party. The 2025 Central Feature will once again provide a focus for the daily celebration moment, coming to life with a celebratory fanfare and a collection of cars spanning Gordon Murray’s extensive race and road car career. The exclusive marque will also unveil an all-new road car model in a world premiere.
For six decades, Gordon Murray has been inspired and influenced by his signature lightweighting ethos, first as a Technical Director in Formula 1 – at Brabham and McLaren Racing – where he designed five championship-winning cars (1981, 1983, 1988, 1989 and 1990); going on to establish McLaren Cars Limited where he designed the legendary F1; before founding Gordon Murray Design in 2007, later Gordon Murray Automotive.
In addition to the Central Feature focal point, Gordon Murray Automotive will be represented around the event site, with road cars in the Supercar Paddock, a dedicated area charting Gordon and the marque’s history, as well as a special activation on the Cricket Pitch, in full sight of the Central Feature.
Goodwood’s modern motorsport history is inherently linked with that of Gordon Murray and Gordon Murray Automotive. In 1993, Professor Gordon Murray attended the very first Festival of Speed, where his McLaren F1 claimed the second-fastest time on the Hill. That same year, his Light Car Company-designed Rocket was discovered parked outside the Stables – to the incredulity of the organisers. It was subsequently discovered to belong to George Harrison, who later drove it up the Hill and became a regular visitor to Goodwood over the years.
In recent years, GMA has chosen to unveil its exceptional custom-built cars at the Goodwood Members’ Meeting, including the public debut of the T.50 (2021), T.33 (2022), T.33 Spider (2023) and the global dynamic debut of the T.50s at the 81st Members’ Meeting (2024).
Professor Gordon Murray CBE, said: “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. 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. I am thrilled we will celebrate my 60th anniversary of design and the driver-centric cars we produce today at the Goodwood Festival of Speed”.
The Duke of Richmond CBE DL said, “Gordon has been a part of the Festival of Speed since the very beginning and I’m delighted that he has chosen to celebrate his 60-year career here with us at Goodwood. His name is synonymous with engineering art and superlative automotive design, which has seen him triumph at the very pinnacle of motorsport with five world championships and create the most coveted supercars.”
Philip Lee, Gordon Murray Group CEO said: “The GMA business is proud of its heritage and the rich tapestry of road and race cars that continue to inspire our design ethos and technological approach. Gordon’s illustrious career and unique approach to design and engineering influences all we do, contributing to the quality, status, and focus on driving perfection of the supercars be build today and those that will come in the future.”
SOURCE: Goodwood
