Anthony Cyril Rudd (8 March 1923 – 22 August 2003) was a British engineer involved in
aero engine design and
motor racing
Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of two ...
, with particular associations with
BRM
British Racing Motors (BRM) was a British Formula One motor racing team. Founded in 1945 and based in the market town of Bourne in Lincolnshire, it participated from 1951 to 1977, competing in 197 grands prix and winning seventeen. BRM wo ...
and
Lotus.
Early life and war service
Rudd became involved with motor racing in the 1930s when he became an informal assistant to
Prince Chula and
Prince Bira
Prince Birabongse Bhanudej Bhanubandh ( th, พีรพงศ์ภาณุเดช; ; 15 July 191423 December 1985), better known as Prince Bira of Siam (now Thailand) or by his ''nom de course'' B. Bira, was a member of the Thai royal ...
's
White Mouse Racing team. This inspired him to take up engineering as a career and family influence led him to take up an apprenticeship at
Rolls-Royce
Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to:
* Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct
Automobiles
* Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...
.
Rudd's engineering studies were interrupted by the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
during which he served in the
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
. Trained as a pilot, he flew
Avro Lancaster
The Avro Lancaster is a British Second World War heavy bomber. It was designed and manufactured by Avro as a contemporary of the Handley Page Halifax, both bombers having been developed to the same specification, as well as the Short Stirlin ...
s on a tour of 30 operations. He became an expert in diagnosing failures in
Merlin
Merlin ( cy, Myrddin, kw, Marzhin, br, Merzhin) is a mythical figure prominently featured in the legend of King Arthur and best known as a mage, with several other main roles. His usual depiction, based on an amalgamation of historic and le ...
engines, but his main interest remained cars. Rudd resumed his
engineering apprenticeship An engineering apprenticeship in the United Kingdom is an apprenticeship in mechanical engineering or electrical engineering or aeronautical engineering to train craftsmen, technicians, senior technicians, Incorporated Engineers and Chartered Engin ...
after the War and built an
Aston Martin
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings PLC is an English manufacturer of luxury sports cars and grand tourers. Its predecessor was founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford. Steered from 1947 by David Brown, it became associated with ...
-based 'special'.
Career
Arrival at BRM
The much-delayed
BRM V16 engine was fitted with Rolls-Royce superchargers and Rudd was seconded to BRM in 1951 to assist with their development. He never returned to Rolls-Royce, becoming part of the BRM team for almost two decades. Rudd was involved in the development of the V16 and four-cylinder P25 cars and started to assume more prominence after the
Rubery-Owen takeover of the team.
Peter Berthon
Peter may refer to:
People
* List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* Peter (given name)
** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church
* Peter (surname), a sur ...
and
Raymond Mays
Thomas Raymond Mays (1 August 1899 – 6 January 1980) was an auto racing driver and entrepreneur from Bourne, Lincolnshire, England.
He attended Oundle School, where he met Amherst Villiers, leaving at the end of 1917. After army service in ...
were eventually sidelined after the drivers threatened to strike and Rudd assumed full technical control of the team in 1960.
Successes at BRM
Rudd put in place proper engineering procedures within the team. Rudd drove a
monocoque
Monocoque ( ), also called structural skin, is a structural system in which loads are supported by an object's external skin, in a manner similar to an egg shell. The word ''monocoque'' is a French term for "single shell".
First used for boats, ...
Killeen car at Folkingham and increased his interest in vehicle rigidity. His spaceframe and monocoque V8-engined designs took BRM to 1 constructors' and 1 drivers' World Championships. However, his H-16 engine for the new three litre formula (based on two of the successful 1.5 litre V8s on top of each other) proved to be heavy and overcomplicated. The team struggled with the complex design and gradually lost momentum in the late Sixties. Rudd claims that the H-16 would have been successful had the drawings been followed accurately - as it was the engine had heavier castings than planned and its power-to-weight ratio was unfavourable; it also had breathing difficulties and only started to improve when it fired as a sixteen-cylinder engine rather than two eights. After abandoning the H-16, Rudd designed a compact V-12 that was to be the foundation of renewed success in the years after his departure from BRM. As a sideline to BRM's main development, Rudd and Peter Wright were also involved with the design of a
ground effect car that never raced; driver
John Surtees
John Surtees, (11 February 1934 – 10 March 2017) was a British Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and Formula One driver. On his way to become a seven-time Grand Prix motorcycle World Champion, he won his first title in 1956, and followed with ...
was adamant that it could not be made raceworthy. Rudd and Wright were later to be reunited at Lotus on work that did lead to successful ground-effect racing cars.
The move to Lotus
During a poor 1969 season and after management changes at BRM, Rudd left for
Lotus Cars
Lotus Cars Limited is a British automotive company headquartered in Norfolk, England which manufactures sports cars and racing cars noted for their light weight and fine handling characteristics.
Lotus was previously involved in Formula One r ...
, gradually working up to the position of Engineering Director on the road-car side of the company - he was not directly involved in racing, which
Colin Chapman
Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman (19 May 1928 – 16 December 1982) was an English design engineer, inventor, and builder in the automotive industry, and founder of Lotus Cars.
In 1952 he founded the sports car company Lotus Cars. Chapman ...
looked after. Rudd's achievements included the development of Lotus' own four-cylinder engine as well as improving production quality of their cars.
Rudd also developed Lotus as an engineering consultancy working on high-technology projects for the rest of the automotive industry, creating another profit centre within the business.
Ground effect and consultancy
Team Lotus were struggling in the mid-1970s and Rudd led the research effort that produced
ground effect Lotus 78
The Lotus 78 was a Formula One racing car used in the and seasons. It was designed by Peter Wright, Colin Chapman, Martin Ogilvie and Tony Rudd, and was the first ground effect car in Formula One.
Concept
In early 1976, spurred on by a di ...
, which brought the team back to the forefront of Grand Prix success. Rudd went back to the road-car side of the company to research
active suspension An active suspension is a type of automotive suspension on a vehicle. It uses an onboard system to control the vertical movement of the vehicle's wheels relative to the chassis or vehicle body rather than the passive suspension provided by large sp ...
, turbocharging, and lead consultancy work for other manufacturers. After Chapman's death in 1982 Rudd took on an increasingly significant role in the business but advanced engineering remained his forté.
Final return to racing
After the conviction of
Fred Bushell
Fred may refer to:
People
* Fred (name), including a list of people and characters with the name
Mononym
* Fred (cartoonist) (1931–2013), pen name of Fred Othon Aristidès, French
* Fred (footballer, born 1949) (1949–2022), Frederico R ...
for financial irregularities related to
DeLorean, the Chapman family (who retained ownership of
Team Lotus
Team Lotus was the motorsport sister company of English sports car manufacturer Lotus Cars. The team ran cars in many motorsport categories including Formula One, Formula Two, Formula Ford, Formula Junior, IndyCar, and sports car racing. More ...
) asked Rudd to step in to head the racing team. He returned to racing for a year in 1989 until the team was sold on, then retired to become a freelance consulting engineer.
Retirement and writing
In retirement, Rudd remained active in the
Society of Automotive Engineers
SAE International, formerly named the Society of Automotive Engineers, is a United States-based, globally active professional association and standards developing organization for engineering professionals in various industries. SAE Internatio ...
, wrote a widely acclaimed autobiography ''It Was Fun: My Fifty Years of High Performance'' and collaborated with
Doug Nye
Doug Nye (born October 1945) is an English motoring journalist and author. He lives in Farnham, Surrey, England.
He is generally recognised as a world authority on competition cars of any period from 1887, and is a consultant to the Bonhams auc ...
on a multi-volume history of
BRM
British Racing Motors (BRM) was a British Formula One motor racing team. Founded in 1945 and based in the market town of Bourne in Lincolnshire, it participated from 1951 to 1977, competing in 197 grands prix and winning seventeen. BRM wo ...
.
Tony Rudd died in 2003 at the age of 80. He was married to Pamela and had three daughters.
Bibliography
* BRM,
Raymond Mays
Thomas Raymond Mays (1 August 1899 – 6 January 1980) was an auto racing driver and entrepreneur from Bourne, Lincolnshire, England.
He attended Oundle School, where he met Amherst Villiers, leaving at the end of 1917. After army service in ...
and Peter Roberts
* BRM: The Saga of British Racing Motors,
Doug Nye
Doug Nye (born October 1945) is an English motoring journalist and author. He lives in Farnham, Surrey, England.
He is generally recognised as a world authority on competition cars of any period from 1887, and is a consultant to the Bonhams auc ...
with Tony Rudd, MRP - Volumes 1, 2 and 3 have appeared, covering the front-engined cars, spaceframe rear engined cars and monocoque V8 cars respectively; Volume 4 will cover the H16, V12s and Can-Ams.
* It Was Fun: My Fifty Years of High Performance, Tony Rudd, MRP.
* BRM V16, How Britain's auto makers built a Grand Prix car to beat the world, By
Karl Ludvigsen
Karl E. Ludvigsen (born April 24, 1934) is a journalist, author, and historian of the automotive industry and motor sports.
Personal life
Karl E. Ludvigsen was born on April 24, 1934 in Kalamazoo, Michigan. He was the son of Elliot "Lud" Ludv ...
, Published by Veloce
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rudd, Tony
1923 births
2003 deaths
English racing drivers
British automobile designers
English motorsport people
Lotus Cars
Rolls-Royce people
Formula One designers
Royal Air Force pilots of World War II