Brabham BT62 2020 Review

When you think hypercar, exotic materials like carbon-fibre and some sort of high-tech twin-turbocharged powerplant come to mind.

Well, the 2020 Brabham BT62 bucks the trend of its competition by using a space-frame or metal tubing for its chassis construction and a large-capacity, normally-aspirated mid-mounted V8 engine.

If the lack of a carbon-fibre tub makes you think this car uses outdated or antiquated technology, nothing could be further from the truth. The nature of space-frame construction means it’s actually stiffer and more rigid in twist than a carbon tub and, as the BT62 is aimed at the track, there’s no need for an additional roll-cage – saving weight.

That’s not too say there’s not plenty of carbon-fibre used in other areas of the Brabham BT62. The skin is all carbon, as are the Formula 1-style carbon-carbon brake rotors and pads.

Indeed, it’s fair to say that all the equipment onboard the Brabham is designed for one purpose – speed. Forget any creature comforts like air-conditioning; that stuff just adds weight.

As it stands, the BT62 tips the scales at a feather-weight 972kg dry. With fuel and fluids onboard, expect that figure to be closer to 1100kg but the downforce produced by the front and rear diffusers, flat bottom and huge rear wing is a mammoth 1200kg at 200km/h – in theory enabling it to drive upside down.

So the Brabham BT62 may be unique in many respects, but one area in which it certainly doesn’t buck the hypercar trend is price – it starts from a cool $1.8 million… And it’s a bargain!

What it gives away in creature comforts, the Brabham BT62 more than makes up for in performance and track-focussed safety features.

Keeping the driver secured in the car is a body-hugging race seat that is moulded to suit the individual and features the requisite five-point racing safety harness.

Other race-car safety requirements – like an onboard fire extinguisher that can deploy in the cabin and engine bay, a battery isolator switch and foam-filled safety fuel cell, along with the integrated roll-cage – are sure signs that this car means business.

Brake bias between the front and rear axles is adjustable via a rotary knob on the dash and the tuneability of other vital systems are available at the touch of a button on the steering wheel.

These systems include traction control and racing anti-lock brakes that offer multi-stage adjustment – either less intervention or more. This means that car can be tailored to suit the driver’s individual preferences or skill level and also to suit track conditions – when it rains, for instance.

There is also a multi-stage engine management system ‘map’ switch which alters the engine’s maximum RPM, throttle sensitivity and myriad other parameters. This works extremely well and is perfect for softening some performance aspects for new or inexperienced drivers.

Our test car also came complete with pit-to-car live telemetry.

The Brabham BT62 has all manner of sensors onboard and they relay everything the car (and driver) is doing in ‘real-time’ back to screens in the pit garage.

This means Brabham engineers can quickly see what’s going on without driver feedback or waiting to download the onboard computer when the car returns to the pits.

The heart of the 2020 Brabham BT62 is a normally-aspirated 5.4-litre V8 of Ford Racing origins. And it’s part of what makes the BT62 so brilliantly unique.

Performance is astonishing – 515kW of power (700hp approx) and 667Nm of torque in a car this light feels more like 1000hp!

The Brabham BT62 pulls hard in any gear and there is absolutely no sign of labouring in the taller ones – even with the high-speed aerodynamic drag created by the huge downforce.

All that power is transferred to the road via an Australian designed and built Hollinger six-speed sequential transaxle with paddle-shift. Super-wide 11x18-inch front and 13x18-inch rear wheels shod with racing slicks as used in GT competition provide the mechanical grip.

The suspension is double wishbone (A-arm) front and rear with anti-roll bars and the spring/shock absorber combinations are inboard and actuated via pushrods and rocker-arms – like an open-wheeler race car.

Everything is adjustable and with a car so reliant on downforce, keeping the chassis in its optimum working range (ie: ride height) is extremely important.

With high download, the suspension plays a particularly important role and ‘packers’ are used to ensure the chassis doesn’t get too low which will block downforce-producing air from passing underneath it.

The Brabham engineers have done a fantastic job in this regard and I’d like to say I contributed a little towards its success. So far, the BT62 and I have been able to set circuit records at The Bend (SA) with a 1:41.6sec lap and a 1:58sec lap at Bathurst (NSW).

The Bathurst lap, in particular, was an amazing experience with the BT62 touching 300km/h down Conrod Straight and pulling an incredible 3g of longitudinal braking force into The Chase.

Think of the 2020 Brabham BT62 as a race car, then think of the body types of most pro racers. Yep, it’s fair to say getting into the cockpit would be challenging if you’re very tall or very round.

Race car cockpits are generally a harsh environment. They’re noisy and hot and the BT62 is no exception.

The seating position is low with all the controls perfectly accessible and almost exclusively located on the steering wheel.

The pedals have some adjustment and, as mentioned, the seat moulded to suit the driver.

The dash is dominated by a huge screen which displays essential information across various bespoke pages, as well as a rear-view video feed in the absence of a mirror.

The fly-by-wire throttle has a nice, natural feel – as does the electronic power steering, the weighting of which is also driver-adjustable.

The clutch pedal is typical of a racing carbon clutch; it’s a little heavier with a harsher, narrower engagement than any road-going version.

Once away, up and downshifts do not require the clutch and the electronic throttle matches the revs.

But the big-ticket item that perhaps contributes most towards the 2020 Brabham BT62’s record-breaking performance is the carbon-carbon brake package.

Even most pro racers never get to experience this type of stopping power, which is normally reserved for Formula 1 and Le Mans cars.

The co-efficient of friction (stopping power) is obviously very good but the other advantage of the carbon brakes is weight-saving. The set-up saves roughly 10kg per corner and, remember, that’s rotating unsprung mass which the chassis doesn’t have to control, accelerate or stop.

The brake pedal is also not power or vacuum assisted so it requires a decent amount of effort to brake the car efficiently.

Indeed, compared to ‘normal’ hypercar brakes, the BT62’s stoppers take some management as a driver. For a start, they don’t really offer much stopping power until they reach 450 degrees.

So it’s important to watch the temperature on the dash display before ‘pressing on’ and make sure you do a good cool down lap. Forget and the entire assembly can catch fire!

The 2020 Brabham BT62 is by far the fastest car I’ve ever driven or probably ever will drive – and frankly, I’m suffering withdrawals.

There are no words that can do it justice when describing what it’s like to push the Brabham to the limit. The sound, the power and the grip has to be experienced to be believed – it is extremely addictive.

Working up the courage to keep the throttle wide open through a corner when your brain is telling you to hit the brakes requires extreme trust – even for a professional driver such as myself… But to come out the other side even faster is an absolute thrill.

It’s fair to say that only a pro racer could ever get the very most out of the BT62 because its limits are so high.

But it’s a measure of the maturity of the Brabham BT62 that it is just as happy ‘cruising’ around a racetrack [Ed: cruising is a relative term here, readers!].

Aerodynamic grip aside, the rear traction is probably its most surprising attribute and as I driver, I kept telling myself to be more aggressive with my right foot.

The traction control actually has a very easy time of it and it’s really only there to help with a mistake or in wet weather.

Stopping power is equally as impressive. On a high-grip surface like Bathurst we saw 3g of longitudinal force – just amazing!

The lateral g-force is on par with the longitudinal and your neck muscles cop an absolute pounding around the corners.

And, it almost goes without saying the sound from the 5.4-litre V8 revving to 8000rpm just inches you’re your head is incredible. Almost as vivid as the acceleration.

There’s nothing I would change about this car and I love it, love it, love it!

How much does the 2020 Brabham BT62 cost?
Price: $1,800,000
Available: Taking orders now
Engine: 5.4-litre naturally-aspirated petrol V8
Output: 515kW/667Nm
Transmission: Six-speed sequential manual with paddle-shift
Fuel: N/A
CO2: N/A
Safety rating: N/A
Weight: 972 kg dry
Downforce: 1200kg at 200km/h