- 1,115
- Rivera
- Tsukishima-TDUDT
British Racing Motors (BRM) had addressed the arrival of the new 3-litre Formula 1 regulations in 1966 by merging two of the successful 1.5-litre V8 engines into one 'H16'. It presented the team with a myriad of problems and ultimately only scored one victory; in the back of a Lotus. Developed alongside the H16, mainly for sports car purposes, was a 3-litre V12. Late in 1967, it was bolted to a McLaren F1 chassis, which performed so well that BRM decided to abandon the H16 for the 1968 season.
Still reeling from the ultimate failure of the H16 engine, BRM called in outside help for the first time in the company's history. Len Terry, of Lotus and Eagle fame, was tasked to help design and construct the new-for-1968 BRM P126. It was a wholly conventional car and followed the lines of Terry's Indy 500 winning Lotus 38. Constructed by his Transatlantic Automotive Consultants company, the P126 featured a full-length aluminium monocoque chassis. Suspension at the front was by lower wishbones and rockers, while the rear featured a multi-link layout.
A further departure from BRM norm was that a Hewland gearbox was fitted instead of an in-house built gearbox. It was mated to the V12 engine previously developed by BRM's Geoff Johnson for sports car purposes. The two P126s built were originally fitted with a 2.5-litre version of the engine for use in the 1967/68 Tasman Series. Once back at the factory, a full 3-litre version of the V12 was fitted. This featured twin overhead camshafts, actuating two valves per cylinder. In original tune, the 'customer' V12 produced 375 bhp, which was quickly increased to 390 bhp.
Although down on power compared to the Cosworth DFV engined rivals, the P126 was certainly a step forward and both Richard Attwood and Pedro Rodriguez managed to score a second place finish during the 1968 season. Returning to their ways, BRM produced a pair of cars along the exact same design, which were known as the P133. For the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, a P138 also appeared, which was a subtle development and featured BRM's own five-speed gearbox. BRM ended the year fifth in the standings, just four points behind Ferrari.
Over the winter, Johnson developed a new four-valve head, which used a similar design as the final evolution of the H16 head, which was never raced. Initially these new engines were fitted to the P138 chassis. These interim cars were later superseded by the final evolution of Terry's design; the P139. Developed by the newly hired Tony Southgate, it featured larger fuel tanks to supply the thirstier, 418 bhp V12. Driving a P139, John Surtees scored BRM's only podium finish of the year by placing third at Watkins Glen. The team placed fifth once more but only with a handful of points.
Behind the scenes a lot had changed at BRM with longtime technical director Tony Rudd replaced by Southgate. He started with a clean sheet at the start of the 1970 season with the exception of the 48-valve V12, which was carried over for the new P153. Using the lessons learned with the first V12-engined BRMs, it returned the British team to the winning ways.
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