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Enthusiasts probably know Ludvigsen best as an author of books and articles on cars. At the precocious age of 22 he was the technical editor of Sports Cars Illustrated and three years later he was its editor, transforming it into Car and Driver. Karl later served Motor Trend as its east coast editor. He is the author of more than two dozen books on cars. His histories of the Corvette, Porsche and the racing cars of Mercedes-Benz are considered the standard works on those subjects. Ludvigsen's acclaimed series on racing drivers now includes such immortals as Alberto Ascari, Dan Gurney, Sir Stirling Moss, Sir Jackie Stewart, Emerson Fittipaldi, Bruce McLaren and the great Juan Manuel Fangio.

1. Amazing Mays The sensational career of Raymond Mays as driver and co-founder of ERA before the war. Peter Berthon as friend and engineer. Their wartime thoughts about the creation of a Grand Prix car that would do justice to Britain. Mays s approach to Britain s industry in 1945. Announcement of the project in 1946, and Britain s high hopes for her new GP challenger. 2. Building a BRM Designing and building the BRM Type 15. Engineers Richter, May and Mundy with Berthon. The choice of its wide-vee sixteen-cylinder engine and two-stage Rolls-Royce supercharging. Drive line and gearbox inspired by pre-war Mercedes-Benz. Delays in getting components from the industry. Cars under construction and hopes of being on the track in 1948. 3. Great Expectations Not until late 1949 is the first BRM revealed. Fears of rivals about the vaunted BRM. Humiliating start-line failure at Daily Express Silverstone in 1950. Heartening wins in short races at Goodwood but two cars retire in a Grand Prix in Spain. Is the BRM a world-beater or a resounding flop? 4. Race Against Time Persistent problems with the BRM s engine, exploding its cylinder liners, defy diagnosis. In 1951 two BRMs finish in the British Grand Prix at Silverstone but an effort to race in the Italian GP at Monza is a fiasco, with both cars withdrawn. Cartoonists ridicule the BRM. 5. Flattering to Deceive Before and after the 1951-52 winter BRM tests intensively at Monza. Some of its problems seem solved. But failure to appear at a race at Turin turns organisers against Formula 1 to which the V16 was designed and most 1952 races are run to Formula 2. Rolls-Royce engineers Stewart Tresilian and Tony Rudd arrive and Fangio races the BRM, which starts to show impressive form. Promise at Albi is followed by a fiasco at Dundrod. 6. Vindication? In 1952 and 53 Fangio, Gonzalez and Wharton race the BRM in Britain and abroad whenever events permit. Fangio wins his heat at Albi in 1953 but retires in the final, all cars plagued by tyre trouble. Developed engine installed in a shorter, lighter Mark II chassis for 1954. Shows great pace driven by Ron Flockhart, Peter Collins. Acquired by Alfred Owen s Rubery Owen, BRM carries on with a new four-cylinder car in 1954. The V16 s legacy.