Brabham Automotive Brabham BT-62 Revealed

[tristatez28lt1]

An anecdote I've heard from ex Brabham mechanics:
The way Brabham became increasingly famous was not through excellent results but through intelligent Marketing. Their engines used to blow all the time and that made for great TV - fire, flames, smoke. But they went above and beyond: they placed a camera on the rear wing to capture the infernos and DNFs. They lost top speed, cameras weren't small back then, but gained exposure. Remember, this was the beginning of F1 and TV end of the 80s, beginning 90s. Brabham got a lot of free airtime that way and many got to know the name that way. Jack was a smart man and what a personality. Shame these people don't exist in F1 anymore. Everything is so professional and perfect...i miss the old times.

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

 

[Matski]

I wonder if the V8 is entirely there own design or have they taken a Ford V8 and modified it.

It's probably not their design, I personally would guess it's from somebody like Cosworth, Judd or Ilmoor.

 

[KiwiRob]

It's probably not their design, I personally would guess it's from somebody like Cosworth, Judd or Ilmoor.

They say it’s there design, I guess like
k’segg since it’s a 5.4 V8 they are using a Ford modular V8 block with there own heads.

 

[Matski]

They say it’s there design, I guess like
k’segg since it’s a 5.4 V8 they are using a Ford modular V8 block with there own heads.

If they paid for clean sheet design they'll call it their own whether it was in house or not. Not saying it's one thing or the other.

 

[Matski]

@KiwiRob

having compared some pictures it seems quite likely it does utilise some Ford Coyote V8 castings.

 

[KiwiRob]

@KiwiRob

having compared some pictures it seems quite likely it does utilise some Ford Coyote V8 castings.

Here's a report on the engine.

Brabham BT62: What we know about its V8 engine

 

[WBarnes]

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

 

[WBarnes]

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

 

[Matski]

Set an impressive time at Bathurst, faster than the GT3 cars anyway...

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

 

[Rolf]

Set an impressive time at Bathurst, faster than the GT3 cars anyway...

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

It sounds fantastic and looks blistering

 

[M.N.D]

Set an impressive time at Bathurst, faster than the GT3 cars anyway...

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

Thank you for sharing my friend

That lap time is indeed impressive, but I would argue that there are even more seconds to be shed, at least from looking at the statistics on paper.

I assumed earlier that the BT62 is a GT race car, completely unrestricted performance wise, maybe even closer to being a prototype GT.

The current official lap record of Mount Panorama is 2:01.57 set by the McLaren 650S GT3 in 2016. Yet, the article discussing the laptime on Motorsport mentioned that the current lap record of the mountain, yet unofficial, has been set by an unrestricted Audi R8 LMS GT3. I've googled that and found the article in the link below. The laptime was 1:59.3 set by Christopher Mies, or around 2.2 seconds quicker than a racing spec GT3.

www.supercars.com/news/championship/159s-bathurst-records-lap-of-the-gods-link/

As a big fan of GT3, I was interested to see why the difference isn't that big compared to the race spec GT3 version, given that the R8 LMS had its air restrictor and some weight ballast of 40 KG removed for a power level of 560~580 HP and a weight of maybe less than 1200 KG, according to the article (the weight figure is my own estimation).

What turned out is that there was some oil spread over the track, and some traffic (however, the video of the lap below showed only two cars at that time), so according to Mies, with no such issues, the lap time can come down to around 1:56.XX (I'm guessing it's either a high 1:56.XX or a low 1:57.XX) which is approximately 5 seconds quicker than the racing spec GT3, which is more logical given the power increase and the weight reduction.

Bathurst Lap Record - 1.59.3 | Christopher Mies | Audi R8 GT3 | Full Onboard Lap

So back to the BT62. With its 700 HP, high downforce package and its lighter weight (972 KG dry, so about 1100 KG wet minus the driver), I'm suspecting that there are 3.5~4 seconds more to be shed from its lap time. Maybe it's a stretch, but that's my estimation.

One more thing: I'd like to see a telemetry data for the lap time so it's possible to know how fast the BT62 is compared to other race cars.

 

[Matski]

Thank you for sharing my friend

That lap time is indeed impressive, but I would argue that there are even more seconds to be shed, at least from looking at the statistics on paper.

I assumed earlier that the BT62 is a GT race car, completely unrestricted performance wise, maybe even closer to being a prototype GT.

The current official lap record o...

The BT62 should walk it against GT3 cars.. dependent upon one thing...

Tyres.

If it's built to be homologated for GT3, is lighter than GT3, has more power than GT3, then, IMO, there's only two things that can make it slower than GT3. The Driver, and the Tyres. Given that these pilots are all pretty good, it's got to be all about the rubber, ultimately, IMHO.

.. although, with this being Bathurst, the other key variable in lap times is

IMHO, a solid pair of brass balls is worth 1-2 seconds by the time you've done a lap of the mountain.

 

[M.N.D]

The BT62 should walk it against GT3 cars.. dependent upon one thing...

Tyres.

If it's built to be homologated for GT3, is lighter than GT3, has more power than GT3, then, IMO, there's only two things that can make it slower than GT3. The Driver, and the Tyres. Given that these pilots are all pretty good, it's got to be all about the rubber, ultimately, IMHO

Indeed. Tyres are the main reason why GTE cars are about 1.5~2 seconds quicker than GT3 cars.

However, since there hasn't been any mentioning regarding the rubber compound for the BT (as far as I know), I assumed that the car wore the Pirelli slicks that are currently used in Blancpain GT.

IMHO, a solid pair of brass balls is worth 1-2 seconds by the time you've done a lap of the mountain.

If I am about to take this literally, I would say that it may become a disadvantage because the driver with these balls above will be too fearsome. So much that the car will panic, start leaking oil in its parts, and finally have an engine attack and will not start up again...

 

[Matski]

However, since there hasn't been any mentioning regarding the rubber compound for the BT (as far as I know), I assumed that the car wore the Pirelli slicks that are currently used in Blancpain GT.

From trackside photo's it looks like it's on Michelins. Could be GT3 spec, might not be... either way, I'd be looking for 2 seconds a lap against the GT3 cars as a minimum.

In any case, great looking and sounding car.

The onboard is incredible. I've often felt laps from the likes of Senna are over dramatised because of the **** state of camera technology at the time. With the lenses and camera tech we have now, many race car laps can look far more pedestrian.. even when they're not...

.. but this video .. the first one I recall with totally up to date stabilisation that still looks mind-bogglingly quick (maybe also the 919 Nürburgring lap).

 

[M.N.D]

From trackside photo's it looks like it's on Michelins. Could be GT3 spec, might not be... either way, I'd be looking for 2 seconds a lap against the GT3 cars as a minimum.

That is interesting... Usually, Michelin tyres are used in GT Open and during the Nurburgring 24, and they're supposed to be the faster of the two, as the lap times of the cars in GT Open are quicker than those of Blancpain on the same circuit. Is it possible that the car's setup isn't complete, and Brabham guys decided to give it a test run without going full quali mode. Several assumptions can be made here, but for sure there are some seconds to be found.

What makes me interested in following the news of this BT62 is that it'll go racing. For me, going to the track to compete is where this kind of cars belongs, instead of wasting their potential on public streets where owners who try to convince themselves they're "racing" while they're just accelerating from a traffic light to another one that is a minute away.

The onboard is incredible. I've often felt laps from the likes of Senna are over dramatised because of the **** state of camera technology at the time. With the lenses and camera tech we have now, many race car laps can look far more pedestrian.. even when they're not...

.. but this video .. the first one I recall with totally up to date stabilisation that still looks mind-bogglingly quick (maybe also the 919 Nürburgring lap).

I would say that the splitter camera is one of the best angles to watch with its close distance to the pavement which gives a feeling of being in the car, so it feels very fast. DTM provide some cars with a splitter camera, which is very nice.

One of the many things that I like about Mount Panorama is the ground camera that is placed at the Conrod straight, where you can get a real feeling of how fast GT3 cars are going. Maybe it doesn't seem that important, but it's really amazing, especially when there is a train of cars following each other.

 

[WBarnes]

It sounds fantastic and looks blistering

Ford V8s always do.

 

[TopspeedPT]

Brabham BT62R

Featuring the most powerful non-turbo V8 on the market.

5.4-liter V8 delivering a peak output of 700HP and 667Nm of torque.

six-speed sequential gearbox with standard paddle shifters.

street-legal “in selected markets”

 

[Matski]

Like a Lamborghini with less straight lines, or a Ferrari with more... looks really good.

 

[Rolf]

Wow really looks great, quite aggressive with lots of different shapes, holes and intakes.

Just look how low to the ground that rear is with massively wide tyres and huge diffuser.

 

[WBarnes]

667Nm is a lot for an NA 5.4. Nearly 500lbft, over 90lbft/L.