Carini: 4 Cars That Put the Driver Front and Center

This story first appeared in the September/October 2024 issue of Hagerty Drivers Club magazine. Join the club to receive our award-winning magazine and enjoy insider access to automotive events, discounts, roadside assistance, and more.

I’ve been a big fan of Gordon Murray ever since his days in Formula 1 at Brabham and then McLaren. He’s a brilliant guy and an amazing designer. I was at Pebble Beach in 2015 when my cellphone rang. “Hello, it’s Gordon Murray. Would you have time for lunch today?” Uh, let me check my calendar—are you kidding me? Of course! It was probably the most interesting conversation I’ve ever had with anybody in that short amount of time. I barely touched my sandwich, it was so fascinating to talk with him.

One of the things he said has resonated with me over the years. “Governments think that cars are the biggest polluters, but cars produce a fraction of all emissions. The plants where cars are produced are the bigger polluters, because all the parts are manufactured in different locations and then shipped to the final assembly plants. The ultimate car plant would have all those manufacturers under one roof, with electric trolleys to collect the parts and then deliver them to the assembly line. That’s when you are truly efficient and your carbon footprint is much, much smaller.” Then we talked about how he was thinking about using corrugated cardboard to build cars. “With the right resins,” he said, “it could be just as strong as carbon fiber.”

When the McLaren F1 was introduced back in 1992, we were all amazed by Gordon’s design and the car’s performance. With a heavily tweaked version of BMW’s 6.0-liter V-12 engine, a central driving position, and a gorgeous shape, there was nothing like it at the time. The same held true for its lofty million-dollar price tag. Of course, that seems like a bargain today, since now they can sell for around $20 million. I was also at last year’s debut of his latest creation, the GMA T.50. I was standing next to Gordon when they started up the car, and he was jabbing me with his elbow because the car was so loud, we couldn’t hear each other. He was nodding his head as if to say, “This is cool, right?” He’s so very smart, but so down to earth.

People think the F1 was the first car with the driver’s seat in the center, but the Ferrari 365 P was the first exotic. The 365 P was conceived by the legendary Italian designer Sergio Pininfarina and debuted at the 1966 Paris Motor Show. This was the first time Ferrari used a mid-engined layout in a road car. Only two were built, and I restored one of them. Its owner at the time was Luigi Chinetti Jr., the son of the first U.S. importer of Ferraris. After I restored it, I kept it for Luigi in the garage at my house for several years. I put baby seats in it for my two daughters, then took them for rides. Probably my best Pebble Beach experience ever was when we showed the 365 P there in 2004. I drove it on the show field with my wife on one side of me and my buddy Gerry on the other. We didn’t enter it for judging, but Sergio Pininfarina was there, and I got to talk with him about the car. He told me, “I wanted to have a race car for the street. And what’s better than to sit in the center of the car?”

The 365 P isn’t the only car that I’ve experienced with the driver in the center. The other is a one-off called the Futura, which was built by a retired engineer named Henry Larson. Larson was inspired by designs he had seen in ads for an aluminum company from the 1960s. Larson took three Chevrolet Corvairs and grafted them together. The Corvair’s rear-engine setup enabled the Futura’s cab-forward design, with three seats placed all the way forward and the driver in the center. The craziest part of the car is its steering setup. It uses two sprockets—one on the steering shaft, another on the steering box—and a bicycle chain to connect them.

I bought the car on eBay and restored it, then showed it at the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance in 2021. The name of the class was “What Were They Thinking?” My spot on the show field was next to Jeff Lane, the founder and owner of the Lane Motor Museum in Nashville, Tennessee. He looked at the car all day, liking it more and more. I won the class, and while we were waiting to get the trophy, Jeff came up to me and said, “Let’s negotiate now, before you get this trophy and your head gets too big.” We shook hands on the spot, I gave Jeff the trophy as part of the deal and then told him, “It’s all yours. Can’t wait to see it in the museum!”