The early days
Neil Brown started Neil Brown Engineering in 1973, personally building engines in a small workshop at the side of his home. Two years later, Roy Foreman joined from the B.R.M. Bourne factory, where he was Chief Test Engineer. Together, Neil and Roy built and rebuilt Ford Formula 3 and Cosworth B.D.A. Engines.
First championship wins
Another employee was soon hired to meet the growing demand, and in 1978 we secured a major contract with the Ford Motor Company to build the Capri 3.0 Litre Group 1 Engines. This led to our first race win in the Spa 24 Hour Race, quickly followed by three consecutive British & European Group 1 Championships in 1979, 1980 and 1981. During this busy time, we increased the staff to five with the recruitment of two more engineers.
A decade of success
The introduction of the Formula Ford 2000 series in 1982 led to our receiving several personal requests from drivers to build their engines for their series. Our engines enjoyed victories throughout the 80s in 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987. In 1988, the engines won the British F3 Championship. During this period, we also built Sports 2000 Championship winning engines between 1984 and 1988.
Other notable successes included building Toyota’s Formula 3 engines for Tom’s GB Ltd., and rebuilding the Cosworth DFV Formula 3000 engine for LUCAS. We also worked with LUCAS on a new engine management system for Formula 1 and F3000. By the end of 1988 we had a team of nine.
Ten F3 wins in a row
After being appointed Mugen-Honda’s European agents for their Formula 3 and 3000 engines, we chalked up an impressive 15 British Formula 3 Championship wins between 1990 and 2005, including 10 consecutive triumphs from 1996 to 2005.
In 1993, we entered into a joint venture with Mr Hirotoshi Honda of Mugen Company, Japan, resulting in four podium places in the 1995 Honda Touring Car Project in the UK, Germany and Belgium, and thirteen podium places in 1997.
DTM champions
By this stage, the company has expanded to 20 staff to build, service and develop the growing number of engines. In 2001 we were contracted by Audi Team ABT to develop a 4L V8 DTM engine for the DTM Championship. Despite short turnaround times, the engine was the only other engine/chassis combination to challenge the Mercedes in the 2001 championship. We won four races and gained two 2nd and two 3rd places. The next season saw us better that by powering the ABT Audi TT to the DTM championship. Always endeavouring to provide the best service possible, we invested in a 3D CAD system to assist in the more complex task of engine packaging.
Continued success
2004 saw Audi return to the DTM series as a works team and we were asked to continue designing, developing and building the V8 engines. Our engines continued to enjoy considerable success in various racing series, including two BTCC Championships in 2005 and 2006, the 2005 F3 Championship, and the 2007, 2008 and 2009 DTM Championships.
Over the years, our staff has risen to over 30 dedicated and talented people, and we look forward to many more years of racing success. At heart, we remain a small, family-run business with a desire to build the best racing engines possible.
COMPANY HISTORY - A Track Record of Success
