EVOKING THE SPIRIT OF THE ICONIC BRABHAM MARQUE AND THE LEGENDARY CARS THAT HAVE CARRIED ITS NAME, BRABHAM AUTOMOTIVE HAS TODAY ANNOUNCED BRABHAM BT62 AS THE NAME OF ITS FIRST PROJECT, ALONG WITH AN AUDIO TEASE OF THE CAR AT IDLE DURING DYNAMIC TESTING
13.2.2018.- Since 1961, when Jack Brabham and Ron Tauranac began designing and manufacturing cars, all Brabham vehicles have been given the prefix ‘BT’, in honour of the team’s founders, along with a chassis numbering code for each specific type of car.
With its unveiling less than two months away, the all-new Brabham BT62 continues the lineage of the marque’s greatest and most memorable cars, from BT7, the first Brabham to win a Formula 1 race, to BT19, which made history in becoming the first car bearing its driver’s name to win a World Championship; the radical, ground-hugging BT46B ‘fan car’, and BT52, the first turbo-charged car to win a Formula 1 World Championship.
As the next to bear the legendary BT designation, the latent potential of the Brabham BT62’s engine note hints at a car that is inspired by Brabham’s historic racing pedigree and uncompromising and fearless determination to succeed.
Reflecting on the significance of the name, Managing Director, David Brabham said. “I am thrilled to announce Brabham BT62 as the name of Brabham Automotive’s first project. With more than 700 racing cars produced since its inception in the 1960s, the Brabham marque boasts a remarkable heritage, so to see the first Brabham in 26 years wear the iconic BT designation will be a huge moment in our history.”
Far more than just a concept or styling exercise, the Brabham BT62 has already been through a rigorous and extensive engineering programme and is nearing the end of an intensive testing process prior to its global debut.
The Brabham BT62 will be unveiled on Wednesday 2 May 2018, marking the next chapter in the evolving story of one of the most celebrated and evocative names in motor racing history.
More information will be announced shortly, and both media and the public are invited to register via the new website, www.brabhamautomotive.com, to receive updates as they become available.
Whilst perhaps best known for their Formula 1 achievements, Brabham BT-designated cars have achieved global success with numerous Formula 1 and Formula 2 championship titles, and made their presence felt in Formula Junior, Formula B, Formula Atlantic, as well the Indianapolis 500, hill climb and closed-wheel sports car racing.
The very first BT designation, BT1, was attached retrospectively to a Formula Junior model in 1961.
BT3 was Brabham’s first Formula 1 car, making its debut at the 1962 German Formula 1 Grand Prix. It was in BT3 that Jack Brabham became the first driver ever to score Championship points in a car bearing his own name, at the 1962 United States Grand Prix.
Dan Gurney earned the Brabham team its first Formula 1 race win at Rouen-les-Essarts in 1964 at the wheel of a BT7.
Between 1964 and 1966, Brabham’s BT8A found great success in sports car racing, with Denny Hulme scoring the car’s greatest victory at the 1965 Tourist Trophy at Oulton Park, against a field of much larger-engined Lola T70s, Lotus 30s and McLaren M1s.
The BT18 Honda, piloted by Jack Brabham and Denny Hulme completely dominated the 1966 Formula 2 Championship, winning 11 out of 12 races.
In 1966, Jack Brabham made history with BT19 in becoming the first to win a Formula 1 race in a car bearing the driver’s name. He would go on to take the Formula 1 Drivers’ Championship and earn Brabham its first Formula 1 Constructors’ Championship in the same year.
Arguably the most controversial Formula 1 car of all time, the radical, ground-hugging Brabham BT46B ‘fan car’ won its first and only outing at the 1978 Swedish Grand Prix, piloted by Niki Lauda.
Three years later, in 1981, Nelson Piquet took the Formula 1 Drivers’ Championship at the wheel of a Brabham BT49C.
Piquet won his second Formula 1 world title in 1983 for Brabham, driving BT52; the first ever Championship win for a turbo-charged car.
The Brabham name first hit the track in 1948, when Sir Jack Brabham made his Australian competition debut. Seventy years on, as Brabham Automotive prepares to unveil Brabham BT62, the company is celebrating the evolving Brabham story with seventy defining dates, images and insights from its rich and evocative history.
Source: Braham
Photograph and video: Braham
