Pilbeam Racing Designs

The headquarters of Pilbeam Racing Designs in Bourne

Bourne became well known for its connections with international motor racing through its long time resident, the late Raymond Mays, founder of the B R M, and this tradition is continued by this motor sport design consultancy and manufacturing company that is based in the town. The founder is the former B R M chief designer Mike Pilbeam and the company specialises in touring and rally cars and single seaters.

After a successful career in Formula 1 with B R M, Lotus and Surtees, Mike launched Pilbeam Racing Designs in 1975 and the company quickly established itself as the premier manufacturer of hill climb single seater and sports racing cars. 

In recent years, Pilbeam have been responsible for the design and component manufacture of Honda Accord and Peugeot 406 Super Tourers, Vauxhall Vectra V6 SRi Challenge cars, and the Hyundai Coupe F2 Rally car. They also design and manufacture new suspension components to fit the Lotus Elise and 340R. As well as designing and building complete racing cars, the company also carries out sub-component manufacture for other firms such as Ford Motorsport. 

Advanced computerised design techniques are used to create and develop new racing and rally cars, but many years of experience are used to ensure the best final result. Few companies can boast such a long and successful history in motor racing and in such a wide variety of projects. 

An exciting new chapter in the 25-year history of the company was opened when the MP84 Sports Racing Car made its competitive debut in Round 3 of the International Sports Racing Series (ISRS) at Spa Francorchamps in May of 1999. This state of the art SR2/LMP2 class sports car represents the marques' re-entry into mainstream circuit racing. MP84 - 02, the first production car, completed only 2 days before the event, won Round 5 of the ISRS at Donington, England on the 18th of July 1999. This was followed by victory in the FIA Sports Racing World Cup in 2000 and an invitation to race in the prestigious Le Mans 24 Hour in 2001.

The move to new premises, purpose built in 1996 in a road appropriately named Graham Hill Way, has increased Pilbeam's capacity and capabilities to take on larger projects and has moved them from a small operation to a dynamic professional player.

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