For Sale: Ex-Dan Gurney 1960 Formula 1 BRM P48

Images via William i’Anson

This lovely 1960 Formula 1 BRM P48 was driven by Dan Gurney in its day, scoring the P48’s only international race win at a race in Ballarat, Australia. It’s up for sale at William i’Anson.

Built from their aging P25 and destined for Formula 1 competition, if not glory, the P48 was BRM’s first rear-engined car. It made its way into some illustrious hands, driven by Joakim Bonnier, Graham Hill and Dan Gurney, and started off strong with all three drivers completing the model’s first ever race – the 1960 Monaco Grand Prix.

From there, however, things went downhill for the P48. Graham Hill scored its only podium when he took his car to third in the 1960 Dutch Grand Prix, but in that same race Dan Gurney’s rear brake would fail, sending his car into the stands, killing one spectator and injuring others.

This car, chassis 486, thankfully does not have such a gruesome past. It debuted in the 1960 British Grand Prix at Silverstone, where it was driven by Dan Gurney. Gurney would compete throughout the year in it, leading the Portuguese Grand Prix for a time, and even giving Stirling Moss a fright in the United States Grand Prix.

Its engine, however, had actually debuted much earlier, beginning its life in a P25. It pulled Stirling Moss to a pole position, and Ron Flockhart to several, along with a few race wins. It was then fitted into a P48 prototype, even soldiering on into a P48 MkII prototype.

BRM sold chassis 486 in 1962 to Ray Fielding, a Scott with a passion for hillclimbing. Fielding finished second overall in the RAC Hill Climb Championship in the car, winning a round along the way.

Brian Waddilove would be the car’s next custodian, buying it in 1963 and running it until he sold it to Mike Stow late in the ‘60s. Stow put the car’s engine and gearbox into a P25 recreation he was working on with the support of BRM, and would sell both 486 and the P25 recreation project to the car’s current owner in the early ‘70s.

The car remained unrestored until 2010, when it was given to Hall & Hall for a full restoration. This included rebuilding and refitting the original engine and creating a new Elektron magnesium sheet body for the car. The original body was kept and still accompanies the car.

Once finished, the car was raced in the 2018 Goodwood Revival, claiming fifth in the Richmond & Gordon trophy.

This beautiful element of BRM’s Formula 1 history is up for sale at William i’Anson, and you can hit this link to head there for the full story.

History and images via William i’Anson