LAT archive
“The BMW engine was absolutely
flat, 72 degrees or something.
But it didn’t work!”
(ABOVE) BMW’s “laydown” engine was key
to the BT55’s aerodynamic efficiency, but
proved the radical design’s biggest weak
spot. (BELOW) Elio de Angelis heaves the
dramatic looking machine around the
streets of Monte Carlo. The Italian would
lose his life in a testing crash just days later.