Gordon Murray goes Fantic!

2019 Fantic Caballero Scrambler

Despite being best known for his work designing F1 cars for Brabham and McLaren, not to mention creating the seminal F1 supercar and its soon-to-be-released successor the V12 T50, Gordon Murray has a huge soft spot for bikes. And a fascination for Italian 50cc mopeds.

“I have about 40 mopeds, 16 are hanging on my workshop walls at home and the rest are at my company’s HQ. I’m 6ft 4in so when I buy one I ride it for fun and then quickly decide to just look at it instead. I’m very precise, I buy models from 1956 to 1969 as my first bike was a Maserati 50 (I rebuilt its engine and gearbox). Fifteen years ago I bought one in an auction and that was the start of it all - it’s since got a little out of hand... “I’ve always been into bikes and at nearly 75 I still love them. I used to have sportsbikes – a Ducati 750 F1, 888 SP4, 916SP (which I still own) but then I started touring a lot more. I’ve been to the Isle of Man 34 times and as I was starting to do longer trips I gravitated towards touring bikes to run alongside the sportsbikes. I had a Pan European in my garage for 25 years (both generations), but I’ve updated to a BMW R1250RS. “I also have a collection of dirt bikes (and broken ribs from offroad crashes...) and as the office is only 7.5 miles from my house I own a Royal Enfield Continental GT, the older single cylinder not the new parallel twin, which is catastrophically loud. So what used bike would I buy?

“I’m lusting after a Fantic Caballero Scrambler, but I’m waiting for the prices to drop. I like the idea of a 500cc single with lots of torque, I love the styling, its heritage, light weight, everything about it. I’d also love to take it to the Isle of Man because there are some wonderful trails to explore over there and you can’t beat a BBQ on the beach as the sun sets.”