Gordon Murray, photographed at his consultancy’s studios in 2008.The ambitious and indefatigable Dany Bahar, the chief executive of Group Lotus, who arrived from Ferrari to revitalize the company, has added another nameplate to the Lotus Advisory Council, his board of auto-world consiglieri.
Gordon Murray, the engineer, designer and entrepreneur who conceived the McLaren F1 supercar and a number of Formula One racecar designs, joins the board, which already includes Robert A. Lutz, the former vice chairman of General Motors; the former BMW executives Tom Purves and Prof. Burkhard Göschel; and Frank Tuch, the former Lotus chief operating officer who left last year to join Volkswagen but remained on the advisory council.
Lotus built its reputation on lightweight sports cars, a tradition pioneered by Colin Chapman, the brand’s founder. Now Lotus appears eager to be associated with Mr. Murray’s reputation for innovation. In a statement announcing Mr. Murray’s appointment, Mr. Bahar said, “Gordon has never been afraid to trail blaze, take risks and do things differently. With his incredible and unique motorsport and design experience he will complement the existing council line up perfectly.”
So far, other members of the group have been visible chiefly at Lotus stands at auto shows, where their presence is intended to add gravitas to a future outlined by prototypes first shown last year at the Paris auto show. Mr. Bahar, with $750 million worth of capital from the group’s owners, plans to introduce six models from 2013 to 2015, which collectively could sponsor an episode of “Sesame Street,” brought to you by the letter “E”: Elise, Elite, Esprit, Eterne and Elan (and the as-yet-unnamed city car).
Lotus has been promoting itself with high-profile events involving music and film celebrities, as well as a clothing line and lifestyle magazine. Earlier this month, Lotus announced its appointment of Swizz Beatz, the hip-hop producer and husband of the R&B artist Alicia Keys, as the brand’s vice president of creative design and global marketing.
Mr. Murray is regarded in race pits and industrial design programs as a visionary. During his Formula One days, he was chief designer for the Brabham team, then headed by Bernie Ecclestone, the current boss of Formula One. He is also known for leading development of the McLaren F1 and Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren supercars. Of late, he has focused on two small-car prototypes, the T.25 Petrol and T.27 Electric Ultra Compact City Car.
Gordon Murray Designs, his consultancy, is attempting to demonstrate with the city cars what it calls “a complete rethink and redesign of the traditional automotive manufacturing process.” Trademarked as iStream, the process is intended to reduce the scale and capital required to produce passenger vehicles.
Of his appointment to the advisory council at Lotus, Mr. Murray said, “For years I’ve been a huge admirer of Lotus, I have great respect for the legacy that Colin Chapman created, and I think what Dany and the team are doing is a really good thing for the brand.”