Phase one of new Gordon Murray Group HQ celebrates topping off ceremony
Construction of Gordon Murray’s Surrey-based HQ is well underway
The expansion of Gordon Murray Group, encompassing Gordon Murray Automotive and Gordon Murray Technology, has hit a major milestone with the official topping out of phase one of its new global headquarters. This marks the first major milestone in construction, of which will continue in a total of three phases leading to its ultimate completion in 2024.
The 54-acre site, situated alongside the M3 motorway, was formerly the home of the BOC Corporation until it closed in 2007. The firm’s all-new 140,000 sq ft facility, built on the existing land, will house the Group’s automotive design, engineering, research and development teams, plus sales, marketing and a heritage centre in due course. It’s a £50 million pound investment that’s been funded by Murray’s existing investors, and will lead to the creation of 100 new jobs.
Upon the completion of this first phase of construction, Murray commented: ‘We are incredibly excited to reach this significant milestone. Constructing our innovative new campus has been planned for over three years and we have worked tirelessly getting to this significant stage for the last 18 months. We are now celebrating the first chapter in completing this state-of-the-art facility, which will attract world-class talent and demonstrates the strength of the Gordon Murray Group as we prepare for even greater success.’
Murray describes the new buildings as ‘low-energy, practical and usable’ as well as ‘lovely buildings’, and adds they’re not a’“show off showcase like MTC’ in reference to the Bond-esque, labyrinthine headquarters of the McLaren Group nearby. ‘Our innovative new technology campus is a fantastic new home and will give us world-class facilities that have been designed with a lot of attention to communication, workflow and social interaction – which will bring new levels of productivity to our already very efficient team. My experience with Brabham and McLaren is when you get scattered over too many locations the communication breaks down’. There are even plans for a small test road, where every car built at Windlesham can be run off the line, including 100m of Belgian pave.
Phase one will see the Sales, Marketing and Tech teams move in, with phase two encompasses engineering in 2023, and phase three due the year after for the R&D and vehicle servicing departments. The Group’s Dunsfold Park site has been retained and converted into the manufacturing site for GMA’s T.50 hypercar. Meanwhile, the current HQ at Shalford will be kept until the Windlesham site is completed in its entirety. Tantalisingly, Murray reveals the next car from GMA will ‘come from Windlesham’.
At present, the plans don’t include a use for the striking BOC building, shaped from above like an oxygen molecule, but Murray admits he does have ‘a long term plan for it’.
Meanwhile, progress on the T.50’s development is ongoing in spite of the ongoing global pressures surrounding the supply chain crisis and war in Ukraine. Multiple XP Prototypes have been shown off at various public events such as the Goodwood Members’ Meeting, preceding customer deliveries that will commence next year.
Murray’s also since revealed the track-only T.50S, which will follow T.50 production at the Dunsfold site, but it’s the new two-seater T.33 that’s expected to be GMA’s first road-going model to be at least partly assembled at the new Surrey base. Production of the T.33 is pencilled in for early 2024.
