Brabham BT62 to get street treatment
BY SPENCER LEECH | 8th Jan 2019
BRABHAM Automotive has confirmed its upcoming BT62 supercar will be available in road-going guise courtesy of a new Road Compliance Conversion option.
Otherwise a track-only prospect, the BT62 will go through a conversion process by Brabham Automotive before registration at the expense of the buyer.
While local pricing for the conversion has yet to be revealed, the option will cost £150,000 ($A268,000) in European markets on top of the price of the car.
For reference, the Aussie-built BT62 costs $1.8 million in local money.
According to Brabham Automotive commercial director Dan Marks, the timing of the road compliant conversion is “up to the customer”.
“Customers have the flexibility of completing the Brabham Driver Development Programme before converting their BT62 or requesting that their BT62 be delivered as a road compliant version,” he said.
“Given these cars are limited editions, tailored to the needs of each owner, we are keen to provide this flexibility to our customers where we can.”
To become road legal, the vehicle will need to undergo a series of changes including raising the ride height with a front and rear axle lift kit, increasing the steering lock range, adding air conditioning, fitting door locks and immobilisers, and including additional upholstery in the cabin.
The conversion will not affect the BT62’s 552kW/667Nm output and – according to an official statement from Brabham Automotive – has been developed to incur “minimal compromise to its race-bred circuit dynamics”.
European deliveries of road-ready BT62s are expected to start about half way through this year.
Brabham Automotive managing director David Brabham reinforced the fact that the BT62 was not designed as a road car, but customers wished to have the option.
“We designed the BT62 to be an unrestricted, thoroughbred track car and our extensive test programme has revealed it to be all of those things. This isn’t a car designed for the road” he said.
“With that said, it’s clear some customers are keen to have a road compliant option with their BT62, particularly to drive to and from the track. My father Jack was always customer focused and we will continue with that ethos.”
As previously reported, the hi-po Brabham is powered by a 5.4-litre naturally aspirated V8, and weighs just 972kg thanks in part to lightweight carbon-fibre components.
At the reveal of the BT62 in May last year, Brabham confirmed that the car will be limited to just 70 units in honour of the seven decades since Sir Jack Brabham began his motorsport career.
