Brabham BT62

Scope of this guide

This guide is scoped to the Brabham BT62 as Brabham Automotive of Adelaide, South Australia launched it in May 2018: the carbon-fibre, mid-engine, rear-wheel drive track car with a 5.4L V8 naturally aspirated engine and 700 bhp. It is not a guide to the road-compliant conversion that Brabham later offered, which has its own catalogue entry as the BT62R, nor to the BT62 Competition race car or the later BT63. Where those cars change something that matters to an owner we say so, because an advert that says only "BT62" can describe any of them.

We have not driven this model for this article. Everything here comes from three cited sources: a Goodwood Road and Racing report from the 2 May 2018 launch, the PistonHeads track test by Mike Duff (1 June 2019), and the government recall checker. We also read the PistonHeads launch report (3 May 2018) and its road-legal report (3 September 2020), Motorsport Magazine's launch article (updated 19 September 2019), Racecar Engineering (7 January 2019), Motor1 on the end of the company (16 January 2024) and Wikipedia, and we flag every point that rests on them. Where sources disagree we say so rather than pick a winner quietly. Prices are history, not valuations.

One sourcing note. Brabham Automotive was the natural place to check the specification, but on 3 November 2026 the old web address of the company redirected to an unrelated site, which we did not visit. The company no longer publishes anything, so the press and magazine coverage below is as close to the maker's own figures as we can get.

The figures at a glance

• Engine: 5.4L V8 naturally aspirated, mid-mounted and built by Brabham. PistonHeads gives 5,398 cc and Motorsport Magazine calls it a Brabham-built unit. Wikipedia says it is based on Ford's Modular V8 architecture, which we could not confirm elsewhere. We store 5400 cc, the rounded figure.
• Power: 700 bhp (522 kW) at 7,400 rpm. The PistonHeads launch report headline says 710hp, which is the metric figure: 710 PS is about 700 bhp by our own conversion, so the two do not conflict.
• Torque: 667 Nm, which is the 492 lb ft that Goodwood, Motorsport Magazine and PistonHeads print (492 x 1.3558 is about 667). PistonHeads puts the peak at 6,200 rpm. Wikipedia prints 667 N m for the same figure.
• 0-100 km/h: 2.8 seconds. This is not a maker figure. PistonHeads printed 2.8 seconds as an estimated 0-62 mph time, and we treat it as 0-100 km/h, so a true 0-100 time would be a hair quicker. None of the launch reports we read states a 0-60 mph or 0-100 km/h time.
• Top speed: 322 km/h. PistonHeads quotes 200 mph and says it depends on gearing; 200 mph is about 322 km/h by our conversion. Brabham's launch material, as far as we can see, gave no top speed.
• Drive: rear-wheel drive through a rear-mounted Holinger six-speed sequential gearbox with steering-wheel paddles. PistonHeads adds that the clutch is pneumatically operated and that the car is paddle-shift only once moving.
• Weight: 972 kg dry, according to Goodwood, Motorsport Magazine and PistonHeads. Dry weight excludes fluids, so a car ready to run weighs more.
• Power-to-weight: Goodwood and the PistonHeads test quote 720 bhp per tonne, which matches 700 divided by 972. The PistonHeads launch report says 730hp per tonne, which is the 710 PS figure divided by 972. Wikipedia prints a third, lower figure with no source.
• Downforce: up to 1,200 kg, from the rear wing and diffuser, according to PistonHeads and Goodwood.

What the car is

The BT62 is a purpose-built track car, not a road car with the roof off. It uses a carbon-fibre body and a structural cage, double wishbone suspension front and rear with four-way adjustable Ohlins TTX dampers, Brembo carbon-carbon brakes with six-piston calipers and slick Michelin racing tyres, according to the PistonHeads launch report and Goodwood. PistonHeads' own 2019 test concluded that it is definitely a race car rather than a road car turned up for the track, and described the cabin as basic, with ventilation by a flexible ducting pipe and no intercom. If you are picturing a turn-key supercar, this is not one.

Brabham named it for the 70th anniversary of Jack Brabham's first race and said it would build 70 cars. The first 35 were to carry liveries honouring his 35 Grand Prix wins, and the rest were built to the owner's specification. The launch price was 1 million pounds plus local taxes and options, though PistonHeads printed 1.2 million pounds in the 2019 test's specification box. Deliveries were expected from the end of 2018.

Production count: a limit, not a tally

Seventy is the number Brabham promised, and we store it as a limit, not as a count of cars built. Motor1 wrote in January 2024 that it did not know how many cars the company completed, only that at least some were delivered to customers. We found no source that gives a final build number, and some pages that say "70 built" appear to be repeating the plan. If a seller quotes a chassis number such as "number 12 of 70", treat it as a claim and ask who can confirm it.

Years and the end of Brabham Automotive

We give the years as 2018 to 2024. The car was revealed in May 2018 and Wikipedia says deliveries began at the end of that year. Motor1 reported on 16 January 2024 that David Brabham and the investment group Fusion Capital had ended their relationship and dissolved the company; Wikipedia says production ceased then. Neither source gives a reason, and Motor1 does not discuss parts, servicing or support for existing owners.

That matters more than any horsepower figure. A car built in tiny numbers by a company that no longer exists leaves an owner without a factory parts channel, warranty or dealer network. Before you buy, ask the seller where parts, engine rebuilds and software support will come from, and whether the car's records, build sheet and any telemetry or ECU files are included with it.

The road-compliant version

In January 2019 Racecar Engineering reported that Brabham confirmed a Road Compliance Conversion at 150,000 pounds on top of the car's price. The work was done by Brabham, with the car then put through the DVSA's Individual Vehicle Approval test, and the article says power is unchanged at 700 bhp with a slight increase in weight. Changes listed include axle lift kits, more steering lock, air conditioning, door locks and immobilisers and upgraded upholstery.

The PistonHeads report of 3 September 2020 calls the road-legal car the BT62R. It describes a traditional clutch, a quieter exhaust, revised engine mapping, a single-plane rear wing and a ride height that lifts from 70 mm to 130 mm. That is a different specification from the car in this guide, so do not apply its figures to a track-only car, or the reverse. Wikipedia adds that non-UK owners would need to ship a converted car to the UK annually for service, which we could not confirm elsewhere.

Running one and what to inspect

PistonHeads' test is the only owner-relevant account we found, and it describes a heavy track routine: several mechanics, plenty of screen checks, the rear panel removed after each stint to help engine temperatures, built-in air jacks for tyre changes and telemetry relayed to a pit garage. The same article notes that the carbon-carbon brakes do not work well until they are hot, which is normal for the material and worth knowing before a first outing. It says nothing about reliability, service intervals or running costs, and we found no source that does, so we give none.

• Ask for the full service and engine history, including who rebuilt the V8 and how many hours or kilometres it has run. Brabham built the engine itself, so a specialist may need to learn it.
• Inspect the carbon bodywork, splitter, wing and diffuser for track damage and repairs, and ask for any accident or repair records.
• Check the carbon brakes, the pneumatic clutch system and the sequential gearbox with someone who knows them, since these are race components.
• Ask for the original build sheet, livery details and, for one of the first 35 liveried cars, how the livery is documented.
• Check whether the car has been converted for road use and, if so, under which registration and approval. Do not assume a track car can be registered.
• Wikipedia reports that a customer BT62 raced in the 2020 Britcar Endurance Championship, with a wheel coming off at Euromarque and an alternator problem at Brands Hatch. That is one source about race cars, not a pattern for road ownership, but it is a reason to ask how hard a given car has been used.
• Get an independent specialist inspection, since there is no manufacturer network left to do it.

Recalls and the DVSA check

We did not run the government checker, because we are not looking at a specific car. The page says that for a car you can use the registration number to check whether it has been recalled, or otherwise enter the manufacturer, model and year of manufacture. It shows safety recalls that have not been checked or fixed, and the manufacturer tells owners of non-safety recalls directly, so those do not appear. A track-only BT62 has no registration, so there is nothing for the checker to match, and the maker has been dissolved, so there is nobody to issue or administer a recall in the usual way. A road-converted car with a registration might return a result, but an empty result is not a clean bill of health, and it cannot tell you about track-use faults, repairs or missing maintenance. The same page lets you check whether a vehicle or part has a fault registered with the DVSA. We found no recall notice for the BT62 in any source, and that absence proves little.

About the photograph

The picture at the top of this page shows a white BT62 in a Monaco hotel lobby in June 2019, photographed by Alexander Migl and used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence via Wikimedia Commons. We cropped it to a standard shape and resized it. No people or number plates are visible. It shows the track car's shape, not a specific specification, and its livery is one owner's choice.

Verdict

The BT62 in this guide is 700 bhp, 667 Nm, an estimated 2.8 seconds to 100 km/h and about 322 km/h, rear-wheel drive and mid-engine, at 972 kg dry, in a run limited to 70 cars. It is a rare, serious track car from a company that no longer exists, so history, documentation and where the next spare part will come from matter more than any headline figure. If you are shopping for one, confirm whether it is the track car or a road-converted one, insist on a full history and an independent inspection, and treat every published figure as a claim with the caveats above. We have not driven it, so use the sources and a proper inspection to decide.