Renowned automotive designer and engineer Gordon Murray was in town recently, and our sister publication Autocar Professional got a chance to sit down with him and talk about a number of things. One of these was India’s engineering capabilities, and Murray was quick to name Tata Motors as a company that’s impressed him with its work over the last decade.
He highlighted what he thinks are Tata’s two biggest achievements, at opposite ends of the spectrum – conceiving a new vision for a low-cost car, namely the Nano, and resurrecting luxury car brands Jaguar and Land Rover with tremendous success. “I don’t think I could see something like that happening in England,” he said.
With regards to Jaguar-Land Rover at one end of the scale, Murray says what Tata achieved was nothing short of a massive turnaround. “It’s difficult to think of another brand they could have picked – it was a prestigious brand that needed saving. BMW and Mercedes didn’t need saving.”
As for the Nano on the other end of the spectrum, he felt it was a complete rethink on low-cost motoring in India, adding that although it didn’t quite achieve its Rs 1 lakh price point when it went on sale, it was the vision behind it that was more important than the result. “You can point a finger at me and say I made 100 cars for rich people,” he said of the legendary McLaren F1. “But it’s inspired a lot of people to think with its engineering and vision, and you can say the same thing about the Nano.” High praise indeed.