Gordon Murray, automotive designer and engineer, has been presented with a CBE by Prince William in honour of his services to motoring.  

The Duke of Cambridge, Prince William, yesterday presented Murray with the Commander of the British Empire honour at Buckingham Palace in a ceremony which recognised his contributions made to motorsport and the automotive industry over 50 years. 

Upon receiving the honour, Murray said: “Receiving a c from Prince William is one of the highlights of my life – right up there with Formula One World Championship wins or creating the world’s fastest production car.

“The Gordon Murray Group is about to embark on an exciting new chapter, with ground-breaking innovation once again driving our growth. Energised by this accolade I can’t wait to continue the journey, supported by a dedicated and hugely talented team.”

Designer of some of the most successful Formula One cars of all time, Murray helped Brabham win two world championships (1981 and 1983) and McLaren win three (1988, 1989, and 1990), before he began to focus on road cars.

Establishing McLaren Cars Ltd, Murray designed the McLaren F1, a three seat sports car which, at 243mph, became the world’s fastest supercar and which, in race form, won the 1995 Le Mans 24 hours. 

He also led the creation of the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren while, independently, driving forwards other projects such as the design of the Light Car Company Rocket. 

In 2005 he established Gordon Murray Design Ltd, a Surrey-based design and engineering consultancy which has had a hand in the new TVR Griffith, the OX commercial vehicle, Yamaha Motive-e and has also created iStream manufacturing technology (below).

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