Brabham supercar takes shape, makes some noise

THE upcoming Brabham supercar has cleared its throat for the first time. And it now also has a name – the BT62.

Brabham Automotive overnight released an audio recording of the car that will carry one of Australian motorsport’s most famous names back into the paddock.

The short sound bite – it only runs for 18 seconds – suggests the newly named BT62 will run rather lumpy cams, perhaps a hint that it will use a normally aspirated engine to produce all its performance rather than some form of forced induction. The audio gives no further clues, only to suggest the BT62 will sound the business even as it burbles past.

“As the next to bear the legendary BT name, the latent potential of the Brabham BT62's engine note hints at a car that's inspired by Brabham's historic racing pedigree and uncompromising and fearless determination to succeed,” the company said.

The supercar’s name follows on from the nomenclature used for the race cars that used the family name. The “B” stands for Jack Brabham, while the “T” is for the Formula One team’s long-serving designer, fellow Aussie Ron Tauranac. The number is the chassis code.

However, while there’s a BT60, there’s no BT61. In the late stages of the Brabham race team, a last-ditch merger with Galmer Engineering in 1992 failed to provide the momentum needed to keep the name alive, and after that year’s Hungarian Grand Prix, and the development of the BT60B, a rumoured BT61 never evolved.

Brabham Automotive is counting down to a May 2 launch for the BT62. The company is expected to slowly trickle out more details over the next few months as it prepares for the car’s launch.

What’s not clear is source of the money needed to revive the Brabham name. One clue, though, was in the rumours that ex-F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone was linked to a Brabham-led pitch at struggling manufacturer Force India. Ecclestone and Brabham have some history; the Brit owned the team for 15 years.