Brabham Automotive Brings Out Its 700 Horsepower BT62 Hypercar

Crazy hypercar looks? Check. Downforce? Check. Formula 1 lineage? Check, check, check.

byJames Gilboy|
Brabham Automotive Brings Out Its 700 Horsepower BT62 Hypercar
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After a tease late last month, Brabham Automotive released its track-only BT62 hypercar in full on Wednesday, complete with a barrage of photographs and nose-bleeding performance figures.

Brabham Automotive

A recap of the BT62's launch celebration in London by Motor Sport Magazine confirms its performance benchmarks, now known to be 700 horsepower and 492 pound-feet of torque from an in-house, naturally aspirated 5.4 liter V8. This gives the BT62 a specific output of almost 130 horsepower per liter, pushing it close to cars like the Porsche 918 Spyder, which sits at 132. At a dry weight of 2,143 pounds, the BT62's power to weight ratio of 653 horsepower per ton is comparable to that of the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport, which wore the crown of highest top speed for a production car over 7 years, before the Koenigsegg Agera RS usurped the king in 2017. The BT62 cannot chase top speed records on account of its 2,646 pounds of downforce, which adds drag, but keeps the car adhered to the tarmac when cornering at speed.

Brabham Automotive

Company head David Brabham is the son of Sir Jack Brabham, the only Formula 1 driver ever to win a championship in a car bearing their own name. Though the Brabham F1 team dissolved in 1992, David has toiled for more than a decade to revitalize Brabham as a competitive force in motorsport, which will start with the manufacture of the BT62.

"I set out 12 years ago to re-establish the iconic Brabham name, determined to see it return to global competition," stated Brabham, according to Motor Sport Magazine. "My father had an incredible determination to succeed and, like him, I’ve worked tirelessly through this time, drawing on my experience and never once losing sight of that goal."

"The team we have in place, and the vision it shares, provides a solid platform for Brabham Automotive to execute its long-term business strategy. Our first step is the BT62, a car truly worthy of carrying the iconic Brabham name."

Brabham Automotive

Each of the 70 planned BT62s will be built in Australia, homeland of the Brabham dynasty. Half will bear liveries to pay tribute to each of the F1 team's 35 Grand Prix wins, spanning a period from 1964 to 1985.

Brabham Automotive

Those who wish to secure a BT62 for themselves have to be ready to lay down £1 million, about $1.36 million USD. Should the Brabham BT62 sell out, millionaires can wipe away their tears with the similarly-priced McLaren Senna GTR, which sports a V8 of its own and similarly extreme downforce figures.

We would be delighted to hear of an eccentric multimillionaire or two butting the BT62 and Senna GTR's heads against one another on track. It's what these cars are built for, after all.

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