PoliCaR BRM160

neWs & neW PRodUCts

Policar gives us the Jo Siffert BRM P

Timed perfectly with the collecting feature on BRM in this issue,

is Policar’s much

anticipated release of the 1971 BRM P160. Finished in the Yardley for Men livery, which jumped to McLaren for 1972, this is the car that Jo Siffert won the Austrian Grand Prix held at Spielberg in, now the Redbull Ring, in 1971.

The P160, designed by Tony Southgate, was a development of the previous year’s P153, but now featured a distinctive and rather attractive, in my opinion, sloped nose. The cars were still using their own 3.0L engines in grids, now mostly made up of V8 Ford Cosworth DFV’s, and had its distinctive V12 sound. The car won two Grand Prix in 1971, the forementioned Austrian race, with Peter Gethin winning the following race in Italy. This featured the closest ever finish in Formula One history, with Gethin ahead of Ronnie Peterson by just 0.01 seconds. That wasn’t the whole story, as five cars were in contention at the finish and were jostling on Monza’s wide start/finish straight. All five were separated by just 0.61 seconds with Francois Cevert in third, Mike Hailwood fourth and Howden Ganley in fifth. Imagine how Ganley felt - if he had only found another 0.62 seconds on his last lap. And yes, I do remember watching this on TV - BBC showed it live (which was rare back then) in Black and White. It had commentary from Raymond Baxter, who was normally cool as a cucumber, but was going a bit mental as the five cars came around the Parabolica for the final time. The following season, Siffert, who had been tragically killed in his BRM at a non-championship race at Brands Hatch the previous October, was replaced by Jean-Pierre Beltoise. The Frenchman won the 1972 Monaco GP in the now Marlboro Sponsored P160, giving BRM its final victory in F1. Niki Lauda drove for the team in 1973, sometimes in the revised P160B before moving to Ferrari in 1974.

I call this my Monaco overhead shot and its one of my favourite angles to take shots of F1 slot cars.

The underside of the BRM showing the narrow pod fitted with its slimline motor.

With the body removed you can see the standard but intricate gearing which allows Policar to model the rear of their classic F1’s, with no ugly bumps to cover a rear contrate gear.

This model has been on the cards for some time now, at least two-years, and on first look it’s been well worth the wait. As usual, the model features the excellent paint and printing that we now take for granted on a modern slot car - along with all the detail that Maurizio Ferrari and his team in Reggio Emilia can throw at a classic F1 slot car. The model now joins the March 701, the Lotus 72 and the Ferrari 312B2, and with the Ferrari 126C2 due within a couple of months. This will take their F1 range to five different cars. However, do remember Policar also model many variations of the real cars - for instance there are three different models of the Ferrari 312B2, and to date including this BRM, Policar have released 15 of these wonderful classic models. So impressed I am, that it may not surprise you to know I have all of them!

Apart from their looks, these cars continue to amaze on the track where their extremely lightweight and high revving motors are a joy to drive on most surfaces and that’s even without a magnet fitted to them! If you have not yet tried one you are missing out on a great slot experience, trust me. This version is selling fast, but if you do miss it, get your order in now for the next release of the P160, this time it will be the Marlboro liveried car which Beltoise won the 1972 Monaco GP. It is due early next year – and I for one can’t wait for that to be added to my collection! n

The all-up weight is a paltry 50 grams, some touring/GT body shells can weight close to that on their own! Policar go to town on the details. We believe these exhaust manifolds are 3D printed.