David Brabham relaunches Brabham brand in South Australia with $1.8M race car

NEWS the Brabham dynasty will build state-of-the-art racing cars in Adelaide has thrilled revheads — now we can reveal where they’ll be built, and where in SA you can watch them tested.

The Brabham Automotive’s BT62.

• Sir Jack Brabham took on the world’s best racing drivers and won

SOUTH Australia’s car manufacturing honour has been restored with the announcement the Brabham dynasty will build state-of-the-art racing cars a stone’s throw from Holden’s closed plant.

Australian motorsport royalty David Brabham has revealed his newest race car will be built in Adelaide.

And the surprise announcement — delayed by the company until it had a vehicle to reveal to enthusiasts — means we won’t have to wait long before seeing the V8 race-only car in action.

South Australia’s $160 million world-class circuit at Tailem Bend will host testing of the car this month.

Racing legend David Brabham in his new BT62, which will be manufactured in South Australia. Picture: Supplied

“The Brabham BT62 will be manufactured and assembled in northern Adelaide, in a recently acquired facility less than 1km from the old GM Holden plant,” a company spokesman told The Advertiser.

The manufacturing plans by the Anglo-Australian car marque is the first significant good news for Australian vehicle manufacturing since Holden, Ford and Toyota closed manufacturing of road-going vehicles last year. Brabham is a globally recognised brand, thanks to the efforts of Sir Jack Brabham, who remains the only race car driver to win Formula One World Championship, in 1966, in a car he had also constructed.

The BT62 racecar on the track.

Sir Brabham pictured left, originally founded the brand. Picture: Press Association Photos

Industry sources confirmed testing days for the BT62 had already been locked in at The Bend track at Tailem Bend, which boasts the second longest GT car circuit in the world at 7.77km.

At an event at Australia House in London on Wednesday, Brabham Automotive revealed the new $1.8 million “BT62” — a track only V8.

The vehicle is a tribute to David Brabham’s father, racing legend Sir Jack Brabham, who originally founded the brand.

The new car marks a return to manufacturing for Brabham- which ceased production in 1992. While industry sources said employment from the project would be small and highly specialised, the new vehicle will also be the only car currently manufactured in Australia.

Mr Brabham told The Advertiser the company had tried to keep the relaunch as secretive as possible as he wanted the new car to speak for itself.

David Brabham with the new BT62. Picture: Ella Pellegrini/ News crop Australia

“We wanted to show people what we’ve done rather than tell them,” Mr Brabham said.

“The move back to Australia is an important one, we see ourselves as Anglo-Australian brand and my father’s Australian roots are very important to us.”

He said he believed the car would be the next “legendary” race vehicle. There will be a limited production run with just 70 of the cars are being produced as part of a tribute to the 70th anniversary of Sir Jack’s career.

South Australian Agent General Bill Muirhead said he thought car manufacturing could return to SA.

“I think we could see it come back in a different form as we see people exploring things like carbon free and electric cars,” he said.

Inside the Brabham Automotive’s BT62 car.

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Brabham BT62 Specs

Price: About $1.8 million

Engine: 5.4-litre V8, 522kW of power and 667Nm of torque

Transmission: 6-spd Hollinger sequential gearbox

Wheels: 18 inch Michelin slick and wet weather tyres

Steering: F1 style removable steering wheel with engine map settings

Fuel tank: 125L capacity

Brakes: Brembo carbon on carbon brakes

Seating: Single seat with optional passenger seat

Safety: Six-point race harness and built-in fire extinguisher

0-100km/h: 2.8 secs (rumoured)

Top speed: 340km/h (rumoured)

Weight: 972kg

Production run: 70 cars

A famous name

— BORN in Sydney in 1926, Jack Brabham started racing “midget” cars in 1948.

— HE WON the 1959 Formula One World Championship after he pushed his out-of-fuel car across the finish line in the last round.

— HE ALSO won the 1960 World Championship, and again in 1966, in a car he designed and built himself.

— HE WAS knighted in 1979.

— SIR Jack’s three sons Geoff, Gary and David all followed their father into motorsport.