Derek Gardner (19 September 1931 – 7 January 2011) was a car designer known for designing advanced transmission systems. He was born in Warwick, and joined Formula One while employed by Harry Ferguson Research, developing four-wheel drive systems for Matra in 1969. He met Ken Tyrrell in 1970 and Tyrrell chose Gardner to design his chassis. The first chassis, the Tyrrell 001, was built in his garage at home and was raced in the 1970 Canadian Grand Prix. Gardner also designed boats, electric bikes and microlites during his long career as a designer. He died in Lutterworth, aged 79.