THE SOUND OF INSPIRATION

The V16 powered the first BRM. And it was also the only BRM engine that didn’t win a world championship grand prix (albeit the H16 won in the back of a Lotus) so it could be regarded somewhat as unfinished business. But there was another reason the Owen family decided the Type 15 needed to be a key part of the BRM celebration story.

“Going through my grandfather’s papers, we found Car Development Committee minutes that said the plan was to build six Mk1 V16s,” says Paul Owen. “They built three, then the regulations changed, so they didn’t build the other three.”

With John Owen wanting to see, hear and share the remarkable V16, discussions moved swiftly. “The only truly original Mk1 V16 is owned by Beaulieu and is considered by Beaulieu to be too old and too valuable to be driven in earnest,” says Paul.

“Part of the reawakening project is to tell the story, introduce it to a new audience and go racing. We thought what better way to do that than build another one? It’s a truly spectacular sound that can hopefully inspire the next generation of engineers and bring back memories for those who heard it in period.

“The plan was always for it to be raced. It’s a sound we wanted others to hear.”

There was an enthusiastic reception for the car at the Shelsley Walsh Classic Nostalgia meeting, and Owen has an open mind about which other events the car could attend after the Goodwood Revival. “Since Shelsley Walsh we’ve had various approaches from venues,” he says. “It does put bums on seats – it always did.

“We don’t want to overuse it – once or twice a year it’ll go out in anger. We want to tell the story and introduce it to new audiences, so we don’t want to always be preaching to the choir. A V16, for example, has never been to the States and it’s not got to Europe much either. Our plans are pretty fluid at the moment, but we want to do things that stimulate, things that people find interesting – that’s all part of the DNA of BRM.”

“We want to do things that stimulate, things that people find interesting”