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Even well-told story
of BT46B ‘fan car’ has
new light shone on itPHIPPSBOOK REVIEW
ONE FORMULA – 50
YEARS OF CAR DESIGN
RRP £225.00As Gordon Murray stresses
in the introduction, this
is not his autobiography.
Mentions of non-motorsport idol Bob Dylan are
minimal. Instead, One Formula is a mesmeric
and colossal collection of all his car designs. The
grand prix title winners, the latest road car releases,
previously unseen projects – they all receive extensive
coverage in this 930-page, two-volume “blockbuster”,
as publisher Porter Press International calls it.
The standard edition comes in at some £225,
while the ‘Unique Edition’ takes that up to £2500.
For that hefty fee, readers can expect a comprehensive
and beautifully presented overview of the design
genius displayed frequently through Murray’s
career in F1 and sportscars.
As an example, the most revered road car to
be penned by Murray – the McLaren F1 – is
documented with a staggering 222 photos, carrying
the story from concept car to BPR Global GT Series
champion, 1995 Le Mans 24 Hours winner and
then to the long-tail iterations that followed
for both road and further competition success.
What staggers most is Murray’s astonishing
ability to recall the most minuscule of details –
placement of springs, engine speeds, specifi c
measurements of fuel and so on. This extends to
every one of the 70-plus designs featured from his
half-century of designing cars. That the text is then
accompanied by detailed sketches, FIA stewards’
rulings and notes means the level of information
is almost overwhelming.
And, it’s here that a minor criticism of the bookdoes rear its head. The depth is so great, and
Murray’s memory of the fi ner technical details
so clear, that this is a diffi cult book to read, and
then reread in an eff ort to try to absorb as much
of the information as possible.
The fl ipside is that, to this title’s credit – and
although signifi cant time has passed since many of
the Brabhams and McLarens were at the top of the F1
tree – it’s so refreshing to have the veil lifted clean
off within the sphere of F1. There’s seemingly total
transparency from Murray.
So much that has been unseen or unheard of
hitherto comes to light – the four clutches needed
to make the Brabham BT46B ‘fan car’ stable, and to
stop it from rising and falling by up to two inches
while revving in the pitlane, so as to not draw any
further attention from rivals, for example.
Then, overleaf, there are preliminary sketches for
the BT47 ‘fan car’. With fears that Lotus and others
would adopt their own suction technology, Murray
was already developing a bespoke design around the
fan model – in fact, it could have accommodated two
rotors to achieve what Murray’s Brabham and McLaren
design partner David North described as “potential
cornering forces [that] would have been limited only
by the strength of the driver’s neck muscles”.
North’s regular insights are a fantastic addition,
recalling cases of ‘borrowing’ parts from Lotus on
occasions when the teams shared a garage, taking
them back to the workshop to fi nd out what they
were made of and the fi ner points of their design.
For those who can aff ord it, and have strong
enough coff ee tables to support its weight, Murray’s
fascinating work is one of those ‘must-have’
additions. It was a two-year process to bring
this book to fruition, and for its refi nement
and insight it’s been time very well spent.
MATT KEWA CAR DESIGN COLOSSUS