RE: McLaren F1 Designer Joins Group Lotus
Discussion
In other related news, McLaren Cars has announced the appointment of Ice-T as Global spokesman for the entire McLaren brand spreading the road car, engineering, and motorsport divisions. Of his appointment being made public, Ice-T stated to the global press, "Man, this sh*t is dope, y'all don't even f**kin' know!"
This was a VERY good move by Lotus. The question is, does the board have the power to really influence the company? I would say that it would have been better to reverse the rolls of Murray and Mr. Beetz. That said, it will help the entire range of upcoming products and shows some sincere thought from Dany and his group as to bringing in some well respect outside help to strengthen the team.
cathalm said:
LuS1fer said:
Bob Lutz, Murray and Lotus = ultra-lightweight hyper-powerful C6 Z06 surely?
MMMM and how much should I pay for that sir ;0)Gordon Murray - initials are GM - coincidence?
Swizz Beatz - initials are SB - Small Block (Chevy)- I mean, come on...
I'd argue this is more of a marketing ploy to try and show some gravitas. A couple of meetings a year is going to be an excuse to talk shop and have a few beers rather than a solution to any major ongoing Lotus issues.
The biggest problem I can see is that they won't have the volume in numbers to support what they're trying to do from a manufacturing point of view. Credible long term investors would probably want to see a 'cash cow' model in the line up, or at least a demonstration that enough revenue and profit comes from the engineering/consultancy business going forward to support the case for a line up of low volume sports cars.
There always seems to be a lot of hot air around Hethel but not a convincing story about how the thing is going to live as a manufacturer long term.
The biggest problem I can see is that they won't have the volume in numbers to support what they're trying to do from a manufacturing point of view. Credible long term investors would probably want to see a 'cash cow' model in the line up, or at least a demonstration that enough revenue and profit comes from the engineering/consultancy business going forward to support the case for a line up of low volume sports cars.
There always seems to be a lot of hot air around Hethel but not a convincing story about how the thing is going to live as a manufacturer long term.
Pommygranite said:
Would that be the same Gordon Murray, designer of the F1? I think that Gordon Murray, designer of the F1, was a columnist in EVO where he, Gordon Murray, designer of the F1, wrote a few interesting things but made it clear that he, Gordon Murray, designer of the F1, was not only forward thinking but had previously designedthe F1. If you didn't know that Gordon Murray was the designer of the F1 perhaps try and get a past issue of EVO as occasionally he refers to it.
Gordon Murray, designer of the F1. Tm.
This myth has perpetuated so long, that the F1 was designed by one man, Gordon Murray. Gordon Murray, designer of the F1. Tm.
Murray was the Chief Engineer of the project for the F1. He headed the team.
What the car looked like, ie: its appearance and the whole exterior (what most regard as being the DESIGNER's job),
was down to one man, and it wasn't Murray -
it was one Mr PETER STEVENS.
British Beef said:
Superb Appointment, no one can doubt that this chap brings a shed load to the party!
Hopefully the new Esprit will have say..... 3 seats with a central driving position, a manual box, no driver aids and a NA V12......
Really? Couple meets a year. Hopefully the new Esprit will have say..... 3 seats with a central driving position, a manual box, no driver aids and a NA V12......
His input will probably be all seating to be made of MDF (to save the planet!).
dandarez said:
This myth has perpetuated so long, that the F1 was designed by one man, Gordon Murray.
Murray was the Chief Engineer of the project for the F1. He headed the team.
What the car looked like, ie: its appearance and the whole exterior (what most regard as being the DESIGNER's job),
was down to one man, and it wasn't Murray -
it was one Mr PETER STEVENS.
is that the same peter stevens who went on to work on that mg SV thing?Murray was the Chief Engineer of the project for the F1. He headed the team.
What the car looked like, ie: its appearance and the whole exterior (what most regard as being the DESIGNER's job),
was down to one man, and it wasn't Murray -
it was one Mr PETER STEVENS.
oilit said:
dandarez said:
This myth has perpetuated so long, that the F1 was designed by one man, Gordon Murray.
Murray was the Chief Engineer of the project for the F1. He headed the team.
What the car looked like, ie: its appearance and the whole exterior (what most regard as being the DESIGNER's job),
was down to one man, and it wasn't Murray -
it was one Mr PETER STEVENS.
is that the same peter stevens who went on to work on that mg SV thing?Murray was the Chief Engineer of the project for the F1. He headed the team.
What the car looked like, ie: its appearance and the whole exterior (what most regard as being the DESIGNER's job),
was down to one man, and it wasn't Murray -
it was one Mr PETER STEVENS.
I'd rather look at that, than the T25 eco warrior mobile.
Incidentally, Stevens won the 2002 Autocar designer of the year award for the SV.
What I object to is everytime the F1 is mentioned only Murray's name is conjured up as its designer, which is incorrect.
Anyway, Lotus fans when you lift the lid to see the future Murray input on the type of power 'plant', be warned you might be met by this.
The new Lotus Eco (there you are, it's ready made for the next E in the Loti range!) is powered by
dandarez said:
British Beef said:
Superb Appointment, no one can doubt that this chap brings a shed load to the party!
Hopefully the new Esprit will have say..... 3 seats with a central driving position, a manual box, no driver aids and a NA V12......
Really? Couple meets a year. Hopefully the new Esprit will have say..... 3 seats with a central driving position, a manual box, no driver aids and a NA V12......
His input will probably be all seating to be made of MDF (to save the planet!).
Certainly a better choice than that raper chap, who I suspect will contribute sweet FA the design and development of anything besides (at best) the car stereo!!!
British Beef said:
Fair point, probably done more for publicity than his actual input. But if the Lotus designers are going to have a "couple of meets a year" with someone, I think he is a pretty good choice.
Certainly a better choice than that raper chap, who I suspect will contribute sweet FA the design and development of anything besides (at best) the car stereo!!!
Rappist. Jeez, the spelling standards around here... Certainly a better choice than that raper chap, who I suspect will contribute sweet FA the design and development of anything besides (at best) the car stereo!!!
Lotus seem to have more associated personalities than they do customers.
It's about time they got some decent designers back like Peter Stevens (who did the first Esprit redesign and the Elan Turbo (and the F1)) now Julian Thompson has gone to Jaguar.
Twice a year isn't much of a chance to tell Bahar: Make a car people want to buy!
I think he needs at least 2 meetings a day for 12 months before it sinks in.
Just a thought....
It's about time they got some decent designers back like Peter Stevens (who did the first Esprit redesign and the Elan Turbo (and the F1)) now Julian Thompson has gone to Jaguar.
Twice a year isn't much of a chance to tell Bahar: Make a car people want to buy!
I think he needs at least 2 meetings a day for 12 months before it sinks in. Just a thought....
I very much hope the whole Dany Bah-Bah thing does not implode, taking the likes of such a credible name as Gordon's with it let alone the name of Lotus. Right now Hethel can't be a very comfortable place to work so they must need all the help they can get and hopefully with less of the smoke and mirrors window dressing we've seen recently.
Yeloperil said:
I very much hope the whole Dany Bah-Bah thing does not implode, taking the likes of such a credible name as Gordon's with it let alone the name of Lotus. Right now Hethel can't be a very comfortable place to work so they must need all the help they can get and hopefully with less of the smoke and mirrors window dressing we've seen recently.
I think Gordon Murray will be fine, he already has the perfect excuse in that Bahr has moved away from the lightness thing. If it all collapses GM can say that his ideas were not taken on board - the association with the McMerc SLR hasn't done him too much harm.Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff