F1 Legend Returns With $1.4 Million Track-Only Hypercar

Brabham Automotive resumes manufacturing with a limited-run, 700-hp BT62 rubberburner.

May 10, 2018 5:00 am
Brabham BT62 Front Quarter View (Brabham Automotive)
Brabham BT62 Front Quarter View (Brabham Automotive)

At 18, Jack Brabham joined the Royal Australian Air Force because he wanted to learn to fly.

Unfortunately for “Black Jack,” the RAAF thought it’d be better if he trained as a flight mechanic, so Brabham didn’t get to do his flying until years later—when he started racing cars in 1948.

The first person to be knighted for services to motorsport, Brabham raced in 126 Grand Prix events and racked up 14 wins and three championships (1959, 1960, 1966) over the course of a 15-year Formula One driving career, including a win in ‘66 at the French Grand Prix at Reims that saw him become the first, and only, driver to win a race and a racing title in a car of his own construction.

The car he was driving, a V8-powered BT19, was built by his marque, Brabham Automotive…and so was this one.

Brabham Automotive is honoring its 70-year history and returning to manufacturing with the BT62. (Brabham Automotive)
(Brabham Automotive)

To commemorate the 70th anniversary of Brabham’s first race and mark his company’s return to manufacturing, Brabham Automotive is releasing the 700-horsepower, track-only BT62.

Featuring a lightweight body constructed from carbon fiber, the BT62 has a naturally aspirated, 5.4-liter V8 under the hood that’s paired with a six-speed, sequential-shift racing transmission.

(Brabham Automotive)
(Brabham Automotive)

Riding on 18-inch wheels covered in a quartet of Michelin slicks, the 2,143-pound monster takes care of stopping via a set of powerful carbon brakes fitted with six-piston calipers.

Although Brabham has yet to divulge speed specs for the performance-optimized model, the aggressively aerodynamic BT62 can deliver 2,646 pounds of downforce courtesy of its giant rear wing and also boasts a power-to-weight ratio of 653 HP per ton.

The BT62’s massive rear wing can generate up to 2,646 pounds of downforce. (Brabham Automotive)
The driving cockpit of the BT62. (Brabham Automotive)

“Created from a blank sheet of paper, our first car takes Brabham into an exciting new era, whilst honoring and upholding the marque’s glorious past,” said Brabham director of technology and engineering Paul Birch. “Using contemporary materials, processes and technologies, and following a rigorous two-year engineering and development program, the resulting BT62 is a car that demands total engagement and commitment from its driver, delivering immense reward and satisfaction.”

Limited to 70 cars to mark the seventy years since Sir Jack’s first career race, the first 35 BT62s will be decked out in green-and-white to honor Brabham’s French Grand Prix win in ‘66.

(Brabham Automotive)
Rear quarter view of the BT62 with the lights on. (Brabham Automotive)

Priced at about $1.4 million—plus tax—owners of the BT62 will receive personalized driver development and coaching classes to help them make the most of their car on the track.

We’d wager that the homework from those classes won’t suck.

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