The Brabham BT62 Is a Supercar Born with Formula 1 Heritage
The Brabham name, once attached to a historic Formula 1 team, will soon adorn a hardcore supercar.
Sir Jack Brabham was a Formula 1 driver who raced between 1955 and 1970, amassing three world championships in that time. His final championship, in 1966, was won in a car bearing his own Brabham name, and Jack remains the only team owner-driver to win a championship in his own car.
The team folded in 1992, and Jack himself passed in 2014, but his son David carried the Brabham family name with pride to a 2009 24 Hours of Le Mans win, and two IMSA ALMS championship victories. David has since endeavored to revive his family's legacy with a racing team (that failed to come together), and now promises a supercar built for the track, which so far looks more corporeal than the reborn racing team ever did.
The supercar is named the BT62, in keeping with the Formula 1 team's name scheme for its cars. It is said to weigh 972 kilograms (2,143 pounds) and derive power from a unique 5.4 liter, naturally-aspirated V8. Horsepower output is unstated, but Car reports a power to weight ratio of 720 horsepower per ton, a hair beyond that of the Koenigsegg Agera S, at 718. It has the aero to use that power, too, as it is said to cling to the road with 1,200 kilograms (2,646 pounds) of downforce.
Just 70 will be built to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the start of Jack Brabham's racing career. They will cost £1 million (about $1.4 million USD) apiece. We won't need to wait until deliveries start later this year to see the BT62 in its entirety; Brabham will unveil the car on May 2nd.
