Last Call- Glorious Failures Edition


In case you are unfamiliar, that’s the 1966 BRM H-16 F1 engine. When the new 3-litre formula was announced for 1966, BRM could have gone with a more standard V12, however they felt that format’s narrow but tall shape wouldn’t make a sufficiently solid to be used as a stressed member to support of the rear suspension. The H was also considered to provide a lower center of gravity.
The 8-cam motor did manage a win at the U.S. Grand Prix in ’66, but its career was otherwise clouded by its complexity- it was rumored to take three technicians 2 weeks to do a rebuild! Regardless, it stands today as one of the most historically and visually interesting engines ever created.
Image source: [evilphotographer.com]

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7 responses to “Last Call- Glorious Failures Edition”

  1. Paul_y Avatar

    Ah yes, the engine that tells rationalized design to DIAF. At this point, the 30-cylinder Chrysler tank engine would almost make as much sense.

  2. dmilligan Avatar

    That's a scary looking motor, and it's so wide. I'll have to look for a picture that shows how this beast was incorporated into the chassis and suspension. Two weeks for a rebuild? Ouch. How long to do an engine swap?

  3. damnelantra™[!] Avatar
    damnelantra™[!]

    2 cranks or 4?

    1. joneez Avatar
      joneez

      Quoting Wikipedia "The H16 (BRM P75), which essentially used two flat-8 engines (derived from their 1.5 L V8) one above the other, with the crankshafts geared together."
      Also, search YouTube for vids of these things. They sound amazing!

  4. Dearthair Avatar

    And, of course, for further batshit-insane engines, check out an old post from the early days of Hooniverse…
    https://hooniverse.com/blog/2009/11/20/the-ten-craziest-engines-you-cant-buy-today

  5. dmilligan Avatar

    That's a really good picture. There are so many bad ideas coming together in this engine. You have exhaust headers on the top AND bottom of the engine (?!?) and the intakes on both sides, right ahead of the rear wheels where they can suck in all sort of nasty crap like brake dust and bits of tire. That can't be good for the engine. Yes, the photo here shows screens over the stacks, but I can't see them in the photos below, and brake dust would go right through those screens.
    I wonder what was like to time one of these engines. It looks like both magnetos are right up against the bulkhead, and the lower one looks totally buried. It's amazing that that actually built this engine and made it work. Wow.

  6. dmilligan Avatar

    Very nice photos, thanks for posting them. I made a comment regarding them in a reply to Tomsk above, if you care to read my blithering.