London - These are the first official images of David Brabham’s much-hyped BT62 track-only supercar, revealed on Wednesday night at Australia House.
Aimed straight at cars such as the Aston Martin Vulcan and the McLaren P1 GTR, it’s an intriguing mix of cutting-edge technology, built on a carbon-fibre monocoque tub, with mixed carbon-fibre and Kevlar body panels and a dramatic aero kit providing a quoted 1200kg of downforce, and old-school, powered by a mid-mounted 5.4-litre naturally aspirated V8 that delivers 522kW and 666Nm to the rear wheels via a six-speed Holinger racing sequential gearbox with paddle shifters.
Suspension is by double wishbone all round, with centre-locking 18 inch wheels shod with specially made Michelin racing tyres, over six-piston Brembo brake callipers on carbon ceramic discs. Just 4460mm long and 1950mm wide on a 2695mm wheelbase, the whole car weighs only 972kg dry, giving it power-to-weight ratio of 537 kilowatts per ton, compared to the McLaren Senna’s 492.
Standard kit includes a 125-litre fuel tank with quick-fill connectors and onboard air jacks, while the carbon-fire-and-alcantara trimmed cockpit boasts a full roll cage, integrated fire-extinguisher, a removable carbon-fibre steering wheel, adjustable pedals, a 30cm digital dashboard and an FIA-specification carbon-fibre racing seat with six-point harness. A passenger seat is an extra-cost option.
Just 70 BT62s will be made, commemorating the 70 years since Brabham’s father, iconic triple Formula One world champion Sir Jack Brabham, began his racing career in Australia, at a cool £1 million (R17.2 million) each, ex works before taxes and options - which will include membership of an exclusive track-day driver development program.
The first 35 examples will be finished in colour schemes that commemorate the Brabham F1 team’s 35 Formula One wins, while the remaining 35 will be finished to customers’ specs. The prototype in these images is liveried in green and gold like the BT19 with which Sir Jack Brabham took his first world championship win, the 1966 French Grand Prix at Reims.
The cars will be built at the old ZF Lemforder plant in Edinburgh Park, north of Adelaide in South Australia, which formerly supplied components to the nearby but now-closed Holden factory.
David Brabham, himself a former F1 driver and Le Mans 24 Hours winner, said the company’s long-term phased product development plan was to build "high-performance vehicles which challenge and reward the driver in equal measure", and ultimately to compete at Le Mans.