Look back in history Sunday: A BRM V16 competing in the 1954 Lady Wigram Trophy race

The fact that Brit Ken Wharton finished third on the podium in the 1954 Lady Wigram Trophy race in Christchurch, driving a BRM P15 1,496cc V16, is reasonably minor. What stands out as the most important three letters/digits in that first sentence is ‘V16’. Not only that, the engine size, 1.5 litre across 16 cylinders. That’s 93mils for each cylinder. Tiny!

On paper, the British Racing Motors (BRM) supercharged V16 looked a winner, if not an ambitious design. The choice back in those post-war days was to have either a 1.5 litre supercharged or 4.5 litre naturally aspirated engine for what would become the Formula One category. So why a V16?

They say the sound was stunning! The advantage would be a high revving engine and a smooth delivery of power. The disadvantage was having more moving parts and in the end this was the case. It ultimately proved unreliable and difficult to develop.

BRM were a relatively new company to racing with strong ambitions. Founded straight after WWII in 1945, it eventually competed in 197 Grand Prix between 1951-1977. It was in 1962 that they won their only Formula One constructors title with driver Graham Hill.

Previous to the 1954 Lady Wigram Trophy race at Wigram, Christchurch, Ken Wharton had entered the New Zealand Grand Prix and put the BRM on pole. Within 27 of the 100-lap race, he had almost lapped the entire field. However, while the engine remained reliable, it was his failing brakes that was his undoing and history records that he finished second to Australian Stan Jones in a Maybach Special. What the results don’t show is that several protests were entered into after the race regarding the finishing order and laps completed. Inexperienced time-keepers made the investigation difficult with several weeks passing before an official result was posted.

Similar to the 1954 NZGP, the Lady Wigram Trophy attracted a fine assortment of cars (see final classification below). It was the fourth running of the race at the Wigram Airfield on the outskirts of Christchurch. Wharton was to finish third behind fellow Brit Peter Whitehead (Ferrari 125) and Australian Tony Gaze (HWM/Alta 1972cc 4 cyl).

Unfortunately Wharton was fatally injured during the Ardmore Sports Car Race which preceded the 1957 NZ Grand Prix held on 12 January. The accident occurred on 18th lap after Wharton led away in his Ferrari 750 Monza, pursued by Jack Brabham’s Cooper with Bob Gibbons third in a Jaguar D-Type. Wharton ran wide in the fast corner near the control tower, hitting straw bales and then began rolling violently. He was thrown from the car and was killed on the spot.

1954 Lady Wigram Trophy Race Results – Wigram Airfield, Christchurch, NZ

Fastest Lap: Ken Wharton 1m 23.5s (Record)