BRM Type 15

BRM Type 15
CategoryFormula One
Formule Libre
ConstructorBritish Racing Motors
Designer(s)Peter Berthon
SuccessorBRM P25
Technical specifications[1]
ChassisSteel box-section ladder.
Suspension (front)Porsche-type trailing arms, with Lockheed oleo struts.
Suspension (rear)de Dion tube, with Lockheed air struts.
Axle trackF: 52 in (132.1 cm)
R: 51 in (129.5 cm)
Wheelbase104 in (264.2 cm)
EngineBritish Racing Motors V16 1,496 cc (91.3 cu in) V16 supercharged, front-mounted.
TransmissionBRM 5-speed, transverse shaft. ZF differential.
Weight1,624 lb (736.6 kg) (Unladen)
FuelPetrol/alcohol mix.
TyresDunlop.
Competition history
Notable entrantsBRM Ltd.
Owen Racing Organisation
Notable driversUnited Kingdom Reg Parnell
Argentina Juan Manuel Fangio
Argentina José Froilán González
United Kingdom Ken Wharton
United Kingdom Stirling Moss
United Kingdom Peter Collins
Debut1950 BRDC International Trophy
RacesWinsPolesF/Laps
2000
n.b. Unless otherwise stated, all data refer to
Formula One World Championship Grands Prix only.

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.

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.

  1. ^ Nye, Doug; Rudd, Tony (1994). B.R.M. The Saga of British Racing Motors: Volume 1 – Front Engined Cars 1945–1960. Croydon, England: MRP Publishing Ltd. p. 432. ISBN 0-947981-37-3.