Pilbeam Racing Designs
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Pilbeam Racing Designs is a British company which designs and constructs racing cars, based in the Lincolnshire town of Bourne. The company was founded in 1975 by Mike Pilbeam, who had previously worked in Formula One for several teams, having latterly been Chief Designer for BRM (also based in Bourne).
Pilbeam cars have been exceptionally successful in hillclimbing, dominating the 1980s and early 1990s; they were the choice of 17 British Hill Climb Championship winners between 1977 and 1996, powering such drivers as Andy Priaulx and Roy Lane. The company has also produced sportscars, entering Le Mans in 2001 and 2003; and has designed a number of touring cars for manufacturers such as Vauxhall and Honda.
Pilbeam's main market these days is in LMP2 prototype racing. The only team that runs the MP93 LMP2, is Pierre Bruneau which has taken their MP93, with a Judd XV675 powerplant, to three podiums in the Le Mans Series in 2006. On October 19, 2006 an announcement was made stating that Pilbeam will be building a new MP93 for a new team.
Pilbeam also aided in the design of the Lotus Sport Exige.