A legendary name is preparing to return to the automotive sphere with the launch of Brabham Automotive. While there are still more questions than we have answers for, we can now confirm what the reborn marque’s first new product will be called – and what it will sound like.
Previewed in this teaser clip is the rather deep-throated exhaust note of the forthcoming new model that’s now been confirmed to be called the BT62.
Though hardly the most emotive nameplate, the handle ties in to a long line of cars that bore the initials of the co-founders Jack Brabham and Ron Tauranac. The firm originally started with (what became known as) the BT1 – a Formula Junior racer that launched in 1961, and continued producing race cars right up to the BT60B (which took the place of the aborted BT61).
Along the way, Brabham produced some 700 racing cars – models like the BT3 (its first F1 car), the BT7 (its first grand-prix winner), the BT18 (which dominated F2 in ’66), and the BT19 (in which Jack Brabham became the first driver to win an F1 race in his own car). The controversial BT46B “fan car” won its first and only race before being outlawed. And Nelson Piquet won two world titles in the BT49C and the BT52, which was the first turbocharged champion.
“I am thrilled to announce Brabham BT62 as the name of Brabham Automotive’s first project,” said David Brabham. “With more than 700 racing cars produced since its inception in the 1960s, the Brabham marque boasts a remarkable heritage, so to see the first Brabham in 26 years wear the iconic BT designation will be a huge moment in our history.”
Just what form the new BT62 will take, we don’t know – road car, race car, or something in between. But it sounds like it’ll strike the right chord when it’s revealed on May 2.