The Brabham BT62 might be history but it’s not the end of the story.
David Brabham, the driving force behind the creation of the record breaking Australian supercar, promises there is still more to come under the historic family name.
He is currently involved in negotiations on several potential projects after severing ties with Fusion Capital, the Adelaide company responsible for development and production of the BT62.
“The name is not dead in terms of the future,” Brabham said.
“Yeah, there will be another chapter.”
David Brabham
The end of the BT62 collaboration was announced earlier this year and, for the first time, Brabham gave some insight into the collapse of the production plan for the BT62 during an exclusive interview with CarExpert.
Only a handful of cars were built by Fusion, although one set an unofficial lap record for Mount Panorama at Bathurst and one will be competing in sports car races in the UK this year.
“I don’t think it was the right project for them, in my personal view, but that’s just my view,” Brabham said.
“The partnership did not really work, we lost faith in the project.”
The BT62 was the first under the Brabham name after David, the youngest son of legendary grand prix world champion Sir Jack Brabham, won a long and costly legal battle to reclaim all rights to the family name.
It revived a car making tradition which began in the early 1960s, when Brabham was one of the world’s most prolific companies producing single-seater and sports racing cars.
“Brabham has been around for 75 years. This was five years and a chapter,” Brabham said.
“This chapter was not significant, compared to the past . . . but it re-launched the brand and got it out there.
“We had a cool car and a cool project. But, unfortunately, it just didn’t reach the level that we were hoping [Again, this is probably ok] and we felt it was better for our brand to be off the project than on.”
The Adelaide investors still own the intellectual property rights to the BT62 but cannot use the Brabham name if they were to re-start production.
But, even with the Brabham BT62 BT62 now dead, Brabham confirmed he is working on future projects.
“You know, anything can happen in the future. Since we announced our the ending of the (BT62) relationship, and put it out there, we’ve been approached by a few people . . . that are interested in what’s next.
“So we’re just working out what ’next’ is.”
Brabham stonewalls on any questioning about details on the projects but confirms there is interest from people in several countries.
“Europe and Australia and America,” he said.
It is also likely to have some sort of motorsport inspiration, but he is deliberately vague about any timing or details..
“Motor racing is part of our (Brabham) DNA.
“We have a plan, we are not talking to people who have shown an interest in the next chapter of Brabham.”
Meantime, Brabham is finalising plans to resume his racing career – which includes Formula One and victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race – with a BT62 in Britain.
He also drove on of his cars during a short visit to Australia for the Adelaide Festival of Speed and the Australian Grand Prix.
“It feels like therapy,” he said.
