Gordon Coppuck
British engineer and car designer (born 1936)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gordon Coppuck (born 8 December 1936 in Fleet, Hampshire)[1] is a British racing car designer who was chief designer for McLaren and later worked for March and co-founded Spirit.
Gordon Coppuck | |
|---|---|
| Born | 8 December 1936 |
| Occupations | Motorsport engineer and designer |
| Known for | Formula One; (March, McLaren, Spirit) |
| Notable work | Co-founder Spirit Racing |
Born in December 1936, he attended Queen Mary's School for Boys before becoming an apprentice at the National Gas Turbine Establishment (NGTE).[2] In 1965 he followed his ex NGTE colleague Robin Herd to McLaren, working as his assistant.[3] In 1971 he became chief designer at McLaren, responsible for various models including the Indianapolis 500 M16 and world championship winning M23.[3] When McLaren merged with Ron Dennis's Project Four in 1980, Coppuck departed, rejoining Herd at March.[3] The following year he founded Spirit with March's Formula Two team manager John Wickham.[3] Spirit raced in Formula Two and then Formula One before Coppuck returned to March.[3][4] Coppuck's nephew Frank Coppuck is also a racing car designer.[3]