Brabham Automotive has confirmed that it will provide the public with viewing access to its BT62 project after its official unveiling on 2 May, which will take place at a yet-to-be-announced London venue.
Details for the model, which the public will be able to view on 4-5 May, have been kept secret by the brand, but it’s expected to be a track-focused hypercar with a high-performance V8 engine.
Footage (below) released last month features a car at full throttle blasting along a pit straight, offering some insight into what it will be like.
A screen grab of the moment the car passes the camera (above) appears to show a Le Mans-prototype-like silhouette, while the engine – thought to be a V8 – revs hard like a racing car motor with a tone not too dissimilar to the eight-cylinder unit used in Formula 2.
Despite its clear extremeness, Autocar understands that the model, which is due to be revealed on 2 May following a “rigorous and extensive engineering programme”, will be road-legal. It’s described by its maker as a car “that has been built to set blistering lap times”, suggesting it could be as focused as the McLaren Senna.
“Unquestionably fast but about far more than outright speed, the Brabham BT62 is resolutely focused on uncompromising performance, handling and driver involvement,” the company said. “Born from a unique and historic racing pedigree, Brabham Automotive’s first car has been designed and engineered to demand more from the driver and reward the limited few who will rise to its challenge.”
The BT62 name resumes a discontinued lineage of racing cars produced by the original Brabham brand. Brabham has been synonymous with motor racing since its founder, three-time champion Sir Jack Brabham, first took to the Formula 1 grid in 1955.
David Brabham, son of Sir Jack Brabham and a former F1 driver and Le Mans winner himself, said: “The Brabham philosophy has always seen drivers extract every ounce of available performance from their cars and themselves. That same spirit lives strong within Brabham Automotive today, and its first project, the BT62, honours the legacy of the cars that have previously carried the iconic Brabham name.”
David Brabham (below) launched his new car company in February, two years after the company name was first registered with the UK’s Companies House. He has long expressed a desire to return his family name to motorsport; last year he told Autocar that he wanted “to see the name back on track”, suggesting the launch of the car company could lead to a motorsport programme in the future.
As revealed by Autocar last year, a Brabham racing re-entry that followed the launch of a car brand would mirror a strategy employed by McLaren Automotive.
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A Brabham spokesman refrained from commenting on the idea of a return to racing, stating that the car company has been “continually approached on various projects” and that it “will reveal more about the [automotive] project and its intentions shortly”.
The previous speculation linked the new Brabham Automotive brand with the Force India F1 Team, which, it was believed, could be taken over amid an ongoing legal case for its owner, Indian business tycoon Vijay Mallya. However, the Force India team is competing in this year’s season, quelling any possibility of a takeover this year.
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