Gordon Coppuck
Gordon Coppuck (born 8 December 1936 in Fleet, Hampshire) is a British racing car designer who was chief designer for McLaren and later worked for March and co-founded Spirit. In 1965 he followed his ex NGTE colleague Robin Herd to McLaren, working as his assistant. In 1971 he became chief designer at McLaren, responsible for various models including the Indianapolis 500 M16 and world championship winning M23.
Gordon Coppuck
- Name
- Gordon Coppuck
- Born
- 8 December 1936
- Birthplace
- Fleet, Hampshire
- Occupation
- Motorsport engineer and designer
- Known for
- Formula One; (March, McLaren, Spirit)
- Nationality
- United Kingdom
- Education
- Queen Mary's School for Boys and Basingstoke
- Languages
- English
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Documentary summary
Gordon Coppuck (born 8 December 1936 in Fleet, Hampshire) is a British racing car designer who was chief designer for McLaren and later worked for March and co-founded Spirit. In 1965 he followed his ex NGTE colleague Robin Herd to McLaren, working as his assistant. In 1971 he became chief designer at McLaren, responsible for various models including the Indianapolis 500 M16 and world championship winning M23.
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Gordon Coppuck (born 1936) is a British designer and engineer. The designer was born in Fleet. Gordon Coppuck studied at Queen Mary's School for Boys, Basingstoke. Languages used include English.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 01 October 2026
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wikidata · Q5585030 · wikipedia · Gordon Coppuck
In this article
Biography
Biography
When McLaren merged with Ron Dennis's Project Four in 1980, Coppuck departed, rejoining Herd at March. The following year he founded Spirit with March's Formula Two team manager John Wickham. Spirit raced in Formula Two and then Formula One before Coppuck returned to March. Coppuck's nephew Frank Coppuck is also a racing car designer.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Gordon Coppuck • Born — 8 December 1936 • Birthplace — Fleet, Hampshire • Occupation — Motorsport engineer and designer • Known for — Formula One; (March, McLaren, Spirit) • Notable Works — Co-founder Spirit Racing
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 1 entries
1936
Gordon Coppuck born at Fleet.
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Gordon Coppuck”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q5585030: Gordon Coppuck
General reference · Wikidata
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Team Bosses: Gordon Coppuck. OldRacingCars.com.
- 2.Nye, Doug. McLaren: The Grand Prix, Can-Am and Indy Cars. Guild Publishing. 54. 1988. 0-905138-54-6.
- 3.PEOPLE: GORDON COPPUCK. grandprix.com.
- 4.CONSTRUCTORS: SPIRIT RACING. grandprix.com.
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
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