BRM was founded just after the Second World War by Raymond Mays, who had built several hillclimb and road racing cars under the ERA brand before the war, and Peter Berthon, a long-time associate.

British Racing Motors (BRM) was a British Formula One motor racing team. Founded in 1945 and based in the market town of Bourne in Lincolnshire, it participated from 1951 to 1977, competing in 197 grands prix and winning seventeen. BRM won the constructors' title in 1962 when its driver Graham Hill became world champion. In 1963, 1964, 1965 and 1971, BRM came second in the constructors' competition.

BRM's first engine design was an extremely ambitious 1.5-litre supercharged V16. Rolls-Royce was contracted to produce centrifugal superchargers, rather than the more commonly used Roots type.

 

Headquarters; Bourne, Lincolnshire, England, 1945-1977

p25 1959

The BRM P25 was a Formula One racing car raced from 1956 to 1960 and the second car produced by the British Racing Motors consortium.

After the failure of the complex BRM V16, the P25's design emphasized simplicity. The car was fitted with a 2.5-litre straight-4 engine, producing some 275 horsepower. The P25 would be the foundation of BRM's successes in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

The P25 began racing in non-championship events in September 1955. The car's horsepower proved to be its strong suit, but its handling and reliability problems were quickly revealed.

Just as the P25 became reliable, Cooper started the rear-engine revolution and quickly rendered front engined cars such as the P25 obsolete. BRM began work on a rear engined model, the P48 not long after Bonnier's victory. The P48 would replace the P25 midway through the 1960 season.

In addition to the factory entries, the British Racing Partnership ran a P25 for Stirling Moss and Hans Herrmann in 1959. Moss scored a 2nd place in the British Grand Prix before the car was destroyed in a massive accident during the German Grand Prix with Hermann at the wheel.

stirling moss

1959

brm 25 2.491 cc  Inline-four, normally aspirated, front-mounted, brm 4-speed

aintree motor racing circuit

BRM P25 1959 (youtube.com)

p153 1970

The BRM P153 was a Formula One racing car designed by Tony Southgate for the British Racing Motors team, which raced in the 1970, 1971 and 1972 Formula One seasons. It was powered by a 3.0-litre V12 engine. Its best result was victory at the 1970 Belgian Grand Prix, where Pedro Rodríguez beat the second-placed March of Chris Amon by just 1.1 seconds. 

The model was first shown in BRM's traditional British racing green, but by the time it appeared on the race tracks it was in the colours of the team's sponsor, Yardley of London.

In contrast to the other British teams, amongst whom the Cosworth DFV V8 had become nearly ubiquitous, BRM chose a different route for the P153's engine. In accordance with their long-standing practice of building both chassis and engine, they installed their existing 3.0-litre, 48-valve V12 engine, that produced approximately 425 bhp, with a redline of 11.500 RPM. Magneti Marelli supplied their Dinoplex ignition system, and Lucas provided mechanical fuel injection.

It had an aluminium monocoque with tubular support attached to the engine. Its total weight was 535kg.

 

peter westbury

1970

brm p142  60° 2.998 cc V12 400 hp

watkins glen grand prix race course

BRM P153 1970 (youtube.com)

1945-1977

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