The BRM Bee Four ERV - code-named the ÔWatt 4` - is an all-electric 4WD vehicle, capable of producing 700hp or 520kW. The ERV uses motor technology developed at Oxford University.

Bee is a partner with Energy Efficient Motor Sport - EEMS.

The BRM Bee Four ERV will revive the famous BRM brand. BRM is a previous winner of the British Speed Hill Climb Championship, the F1 world Drivers` and Constructors` championships and a total of 17 F1 Grands Prix, with Graham Hill and Sir Jackie Stewart as two of the winning drivers.

Participants in the project include Rubery Owen, Oxford University, Oxford Brookes and MIRA Ltd Ð the Motor Industry Research Association.

The BRM Bee Four electric racing car will be driven by Graeme Wight, a two-times former Hill Climb Champion, and a man who has set four outright records at Doune, Loton Park, Prescott and Shelsley Walsh. Graeme announced his intention to drive the vehicle at the Changing Climate in Motorsport Technology event at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on 4 December, which coincided with the start of Wales Rally GB.

ABOUT BRM

2009 is the 60th anniversary of BRM, so it is very appropriate to revive the brand in an innovative new car.

BRM was founded just after the Second World War by Raymond Mays, who had built several hillclimb and road racing cars under the ERA brand before the war, and Peter Berthon, a long-time associate. Mays` pre-war successes (and access to pre-war Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union design documents) inspired him to build an all-British Grand Prix car for the post-war era, as a national prestige project (which, naturally, he would drive himself!) with the backing (both financially and in kind and labour) of the British motor industry and its suppliers channelled through a trust fund.

This proved an unwieldy way of organising and financing the project, and as some of the backers withdrew, disappointed with the team`s slow progress and early results, it fell to one of the partners in the trust, Alfred Owen of the Rubery Owen group of companies, which primarily manufactured car parts, to take over the team in its entirety. Between 1954 and 1970, the team entered its works F1 cars under the official name of the Owen Racing Organisation and won 17 Grands Prix, The Drivers World Championship and two World Constructor`s titles.

The BRM Bee Four electric racing car will be consistent with BRM`s long history of innovation and teamwork, and will be a great demonstration of Rubery Owen`s modern focus on environmental technologies. It will also be a `marker` for a new breed of motorsport, one which minimises environmental impact and is overwhelmingly cost effective, but at the same time is phenomenally fast and very `inclusive`.

Paul Owen, Grandson of Sir Alfred and Managing Director of Rubery Owen`s Environmental Technology Subsidiary Rozone Limited commented: "Rubery Owen is very pleased to see the BRM name once again being used to drive forward an innovative development to take motorsport to new levels. For the last decade, our Rozone subsidiary has been seeking to develop technologies under the umbrella of "Sustainable Solutions" - solutions which try to balance economic, social and of course environmental considerations, all within a framework of teamwork and co-operation.

"We believe that the BRM Bee Four project demonstrates this perfectly - acknowledging the past, enhancing the present, and creating the future. At a time when we are all examining the cost effectiveness and environmental impact of many parts of what we do, we hope that the project will demonstrate that motor sport can be both these things - but without forgetting the `social` aspect or the importance of fun, enjoyment and competition` - the main reasons we all do it in the first place!"

ABOUT BEE

The BRM Bee Four is part of a business plan by Bee Automobiles to produce a range of production cars. The business will be further funded by private equity.

For further information, please contact:
Stephen Voller, Chairman, Bee Automobiles Ltd
Email:  stephen.voller@beeautomobiles.com
Telephone: 0118 925 3292

NB: A new, hi-res colour image of the BRM Bee Four race car is available in electronic form (jpeg) upon request. Simply email news@cdwrite.co.uk and ask for the image.

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