[Andre40]

Hi All,

Might as well continue on the subject of Gordon Murray.

In mid-2002 Gordon asked me if I could find him either a GSM (Glassport Motors) Dart or Flamingo. My first reaction was to ask why a man who designed the McLaren F1 and was working on the new Mercedes-Benz McLaren SLR would want a 40 year South African built car. Reply was that when he was a student at the Durban Technicon (that recently awarded him a professorship) he greatly admired the cars. I found him a yellow, restored 1964 Flamingo, put in a tin box and sent it to him.

Just after the car arrived I went to the UK to see if all was okay. When I arrived at the McLaren factory I saw a silver F1 parked in front of Gordon’s office. He said that he normally commutes to work in a Smart but had brought the F1 specially for me, which was an amazingly thoughtful and much appreciated gesture. But that’s Gordon, always a gentleman.

He then invited me to lunch to his favourite Italian restaurant in nearby Chobham. As we pulled into the car park he said with a wry grin that it must be the only Italian restaurant in the world with McLaren posters on the wall.

The F1’s acceleration is the road equivalent of an English Electric Lightning and the offset passenger seat with central driving position is most unusual.

Back at the factory Gordon asked me to sign a non disclosure agreement and showed me the Mercedes-Benz Mclaren SLR in the making. The high tech and electronics made my head spin. History will tell us that the car had its world launch in Cape Town and surrounding area.I had nothing to do with it!An idiot in a VW Golf went through red lights in central Cape Town and smacked into one of the SLRs (not his lucky day!). The Golf looked sick but the SLR was virtually undamaged which was an unintended marketing bonus.

Then as if he hadn’t done enough for me he gave me an autographed copy of the book ‘Driving Ambition’, on the development of the F1. Of my motor book collection definitely the most treasured one!

Glassport Motors (GSM) was founded in Cape Town in 1957 by partners Bob van Niekerk, Willie Meissner and stylist Verster de Witt, who was largely responsible for the Sunbeam Alpine when he worked for Rootes.

The first car was the Dart followed later by the Flamingo coupe. The cars were phenomenally successful on South African racing circuits and the Dart was eventually built under-licence in West Malling, Kent. Bob held the Brands Hatch short circuit record in the 1150cc class for seven years. At a race at Silverstone he was so far in the lead that he pulled into the pits for a coke and a cigarette which he smoked out on the track. Understandably the marshals went beserk! When a perplexed Colin Chapman asked Bob why he beat his Sevens by a country mile he said, ‘My car has a shovel nose and yours is blunt. Don’t you know anything about aerodynamics.’

At the time Eric Broadley and Lola Cars were based in Kent not far from West Malling and Eric used to borrow the GSM dynamometer. One day Mr Lola arrived with a Kent engine, fitted it and rigged up a 20 ft throttle cable. When Bob asked him what the hell he was doing he said was going to do an experiment that might not work. He revved up the little engine, took it clean over top and it blew up in big way. ‘See what I meant, Bob,’ said Eric! I can write a book (a thick one) about that wonderful era!

In 1963 GSM needed additional working capital and a finance house took control. A year later the directors lost interest and liquidated the company. A sad end to a bold venture. Today Darts and Flamingos are much sought after cars and the GSM Club is thriving.

I did a similar post many moons ago but new members would have missed out.

First pic is of Gordon in the F1 in the car park of the Italian restaurant in Chobham

You have to judge your success by what you had to give up to achieve it.
André 40