As BMW continues to celebrate its 100th anniversary, the German marque organized something rather special with racing driver Nelson Piquet Jr for his 31st birthday.
The Brazilian driver who currently races in Formula E and has had previous stints in Formula One, NASCAR and the FIA World Endurance Championship, was handed the keys to a plethora of BMW’s finest ever racing cars and a closed ribbon of tarmac in the Italian Alps. Not a bad way to spend your birthday.
Of the cars Piquet Jr drove, certainly the most special was the Brabham BMW BT52 which Piquet’s dad piloted to the world championship during the 1983 Formula One season.
Although the priceless car was only driven slowly on the stunning roads, seeing an F1 car, particularly one from the famed-1980’s era on a mountain road is really something to behold.
In its hey-day, the BT52’s turbocharged, 1.5-liter straight-four cylinder engine pumped out 640 hp during the races and up to 800 hp in qualifying trim, truly absurd figures for such a small powertrain.