Man who designed McLaren F1 shares brutally honest opinion on Gordon Murray's new car paying tribute to it
Published on Oct 04, 2025 at 6:39 PM (UTC+4)
by Keelin McNamara
Last updated on Oct 03, 2025 at 2:30 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Emma Matthews
The man behind the McLaren F1 has shared his brutally honest opinion.
Peter Stevens is the man responsible for one of the supercar world’s most legendary designs.
Now, Gordon Murray’s company has released a new car paying tribute to it.
And Stevens has far from held back in speaking his mind on the tribute.
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Original McLaren F1 designer speaks his mind
Recently, Gordon Murray Automotive made a very special announcement.
During Monterey Car Week, the company announced the launch of its new Special Vehicles division.
This division is responsible for creating two extremely special, limited-edition supercars.
Those are, of course, the Le Mans GTR and the S1 LM.
Motorsport fans everywhere will see that the S1 LM pays homage to the 1995 McLaren F1 GTR.
This is the car that would go on to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans back in 1995.
When it was announced, the design was met with near-universal praise and approval.
Except that said approval hasn’t come from one man – the man who originally designed the F1.
British car designer Peter Stevens recently took to social media to voice his displeasure.
Speaking on Instagram, Stevens had this to say:
“It appeared to have been produced on the keyboard of a CAD program by someone wearing boxing gloves.”
“What looks [sic] something like a couple of black planks of wood suspended on skinny little aluminium plates is possibly meant to represent a rear wing.”
“This, and a huge clunky-looking rear lower diffuser, do not in any way represent the character of a proper McLaren F1 GTR.”
To be clear, Stevens does not appear to be criticizing Gordon Murray himself in any way.
It is also not pointed at Kevin Richards, the creative director of GMA.
Rather, the criticism appears pointed at an outsider brought in by the buyer of these cars.
Car comes with unmatched legacy
For those who are unaware, the legendary McLaren F1 has a fascinating origin story.
While the legendary Murray engineered the F1, he did not actually design it.
That responsibility fell to British car designer Peter Stevens.
Recently, Gordon Murray Automotive was commissioned to produce two special cars.
One of those cars pays tribute to the McLaren G1 GTR, a supercar with an incredible pedigree.
When it was released, it absolutely dominated everything in sight.
Gordon Murray originally envisioned the McLaren F1 as the ultimate road-going car.
He never actually had any intention of building a racing machine from the creation.
It wasn’t until 1995 that Murray finally agreed to modify the car into what would become a dominant force on the asphalt.
With both cars designed by Peter Stevens, the McLaren F1 GTR would dominate all before it.
It would go on to cement its place in history by winning the 1995 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Keelin McNamara is a content writer at Supercar Blondie from Ireland, covering cars, technology, and lifestyle. Despite being a Law graduate, he discovered his passion for journalism during the COVID-19 pandemic, and has worked in the industry ever since. Outside of work, he is an avid MotoGP fan, and is a self-confessed addict of the sport.
