BRM Type 15
The BRM Type 15 was a Formula One racing car of the early 1950s, and the first car produced by British Racing Motors. The car was fitted with a revolutionary and highly complex supercharged 1.5-litre British Racing Motors V16 which produced considerably more power than any of its contemporaries.
| Category | Formula One Formule Libre | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Constructor | British Racing Motors | ||||||||
| Designer(s) | Peter Berthon | ||||||||
| Successor | BRM P25 | ||||||||
| Technical specifications | |||||||||
| Chassis | Steel box-section ladder. | ||||||||
| Suspension (front) | Porsche-type trailing arms, with Lockheed oleo struts. | ||||||||
| Suspension (rear) | de Dion tube, with Lockheed air struts. | ||||||||
| Axle track | F: 52 in (132.1 cm) R: 51 in (129.5 cm) | ||||||||
| Wheelbase | 104 in (264.2 cm) | ||||||||
| Engine | British Racing Motors V16 1,496 cc (91.3 cu in) V16 supercharged, front-mounted. | ||||||||
| Transmission | BRM 5-speed, transverse shaft. ZF differential. | ||||||||
| Weight | 1,624 lb (736.6 kg) (Unladen) | ||||||||
| Fuel | Petrol/alcohol mix. | ||||||||
| Tyres | Dunlop. | ||||||||
| Competition history | |||||||||
| Notable entrants | BRM Ltd. Owen Racing Organisation | ||||||||
| Notable drivers | Reg Parnell Juan Manuel Fangio José Froilán González Ken Wharton Stirling Moss Peter Collins | ||||||||
| Debut | 1950 BRDC International Trophy | ||||||||
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| n.b. Unless otherwise stated, all data refer to Formula One World Championship Grands Prix only. | |||||||||
The distinctive noise of the car made it a favourite with crowds wherever it appeared, but the initial unreliability of the car, its inability to live up to the hype that the project's leading figures had created around it, and the change to Formula Two regulations in 1952 meant the project never achieved the hoped-for level of success on the Grand Prix stage; the car's complexities meant it had a longer development time than its competitors and was not properly competitive until 1953 (3 years after it first raced), where it saw success at non-championship events.