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McLaren F1 designer Gordon Murray creates his own car company

Famed automotive designer Gordon Murray has announced he's launching a new vehicle manufacturing company that will focus on taking innovative car designs into limited-run production. Gordon Murray Automotive says its first car will be a flagship model launched under a new brand that it says will go against the trend toward more complicated, heavier-weight vehicles. Murray is the South African-born automotive engineer and designer of the McLaren F1 who more recently was working on the T.27, a tiny electric city three-seater. The new company is positioned as part of a corporate organization and a sister company to Gordon Murray Design. "The new manufacturing business significantly expands the capabilities of our group of companies," Murray said. "With our first new car, we will demonstrate a return to the design and engineering principles that have made the McLaren F1 such an icon." Murray said its cars will be built on a new version of its highly efficient iStream manufacturing process, which derives heavily from Formula One construction and materials technologies to make low-weight vehicles that require less energy and less factory space to produce. It describes the process thusly: "An iStream chassis is essentially a hybrid structure consisting of a metallic frame (iFrame) and composite sandwich panels (iPanels). The basic concept is to use the iFrame to form a basic skeleton to locate all the local attachment points such as powertrain, steering, suspension and occupant seats etc. The iFrame alone does not meet the performance demands of a modern car, so we then stabilise the iFrame by bonding the highly rigid (iPanels) onto the metallic members so they then act as very stiff shear panels." The process was used on the TVR sports car, which Murray's firm said was as much as 300 kilograms (660 pounds) lighter than others in its class: Murray designed F1 cars that won more than 50 grands prix. Like Lotus, he is obsessed with weight reduction, and has recently worked on small-car projects like the Yamaha Sports Ride Concept. Autocar says Murray aims to keep the cost of his new vehicles low through use of the iStream process, and has said his ideal supercar would weigh less than 2,000 pounds. Whether that's the flagship he speaks of remains to be seen.

Jay Leno recaps Pebble Beach

Each year at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance the picturesque, ocean-side setting of the golf course becomes a parking lot for a vast array of multi-million dollar vehicles. However, if you missed the posh event this year, then Jay Leno has you covered yet again. For a nearly hour-long installment of Jay Leno's Garage, the comedian has dumped his denim in favor of a suit to take viewers on an insider tour of the lavish gathering. He interviewed some of the most talented designers in the auto industry, too. Leno starts off checking out a few beautiful classics by the shore, but things really get interesting for his stroll down the Concept Car Lawn for a scoop on the vehicles of tomorrow. Ed Welburn tells Leno all about the Buick Avenir, and Shiro Nakamura offers a tour of the Infiniti Q60. Plus, there are detailed looks at the Lincoln Continental, Hyundai Vision G Coupe, and Bentley EXP 10 Speed 6. News Source: Jay Leno's Garage via YouTube Bentley Buick Hyundai Infiniti Lincoln McLaren Classics Videos Pebble Beach Jay Lenos Garage infiniti q60 buick avenir bentley exp 10 speed 6

Honda says it's 'not lost' in F1, but McLaren is losing patience

MONTREAL (Reuters) - Honda has responded to criticism from Formula One partners McLaren by saying it was going in the right direction despite the team having failed to score a point so far this season. "It is unfortunate I can't convince them we are going in the right direction. But I am confident we are not lost," Honda's Formula One chief Yusuke Hasegawa told motorsport.com at the Canadian Grand Prix. "We still need some more time but we are doing the right thing. We are doing many things to speed up our development but I don't disclose what." Former champions McLaren, the second most successful team in the sport in terms of race wins, are last in the championship and the only outfit yet to score after six races. The British-based team's executive director Zak Brown told Reuters on Wednesday that the Japanese manufacturer seemed "a bit lost" and indicated the partnership was reaching break point. The American's comments were widely reported and provided a major talking-point in the Montreal paddock. "I was not surprised," said Hasegawa of Brown's comments. "It's no wonder he has complained and he is frustrated. I'm frustrated, I'm disappointed, the team is disappointed. This is a very difficult, tough situation." (Reporting by Alan Baldwin in London, editing by Ed Osmond) Image Credit: Mark Thompson/Getty Motorsports Honda McLaren Racing Vehicles F1