Motorsport history is littered with great-looking cars that massively underperformed, and the golden era of Group C was absolutely no different in that regard.
Whether through inherently poor design, flawed concepts, underinvestment or just plain bad luck, there are cars galore that retain appeal because of the ‘what might have been’ factor.
Amongst that group of fan favourite oddballs is the storied BRM P351 of 1992, a car that completed its staccato series of disappointing the fanbase much later in the 1990s as a de-roofed and re-engined WSC prototype re dubbed as the BRM P301.
And we use the word ‘storied’ advisably, indeed here is the back-story of the original P351 told, in the way that only he could, by the late and much lamented Michael Cotton back in 2020.
Now though the P351 is back! Back, fully and beautifully restored in its original Group C form, back on track and back with another promise to go racing!
The one-of one car was unveiled last month at Silverstone’s Carfest, 34 years after making its (brief) competition debut there.
Built for the 1992 World Sportscar Championship, the P351 csports a carbon-composite monocoque with a naturally aspirated 3.5-litre BRM V12, its original V12 and gearbox have now been completely rebuilt by Dawson Racing, with the restored car now running on sustainable fuel.
Restored To Race
BRM acquired the P351 in late 2024 and entrusted its restoration to Ian Dawson of Dawson Racing – Ian has quite the history down the years with the car!
After its brief Group C career, the P351 had been substantially reworked in to the open-top BRM P301. Its roof was removed and its BRM V12 replaced by a Nissan twin-turbo V6, with Dawson working with the car during this later chapter at Pacific Racing.
The P351 has now been returned to its original closed-cockpit 1992 specification. Its original naturally aspirated BRM V12 and original gearbox have both been completely rebuilt, while the missing cockpit roof was reverse-engineered using surviving original paperwork and period photography.
“Seeing the P351 restored and back at Silverstone alongside the P15 shows just how broad the BRM story really is,” said Simon Owen, grandson of BRM owner Sir Alfred Owen. “The P15 represents the extraordinary ambition with which BRM began in 1949. More than 40 years later, the P351 was created with that same ambition for a completely different form of international motorsport. But this isn’t about looking backwards. The P351 was built to race, and that is exactly what we intend for it to do again.”
BRM remains in the ownership of the Owen family. The restoration of the P351 forms part of the continuing preservation of BRM’s history, returning its cars to active use,.
