Road compliance, Le Mans coming for Brabham BT62

While the BT62 was launched as a track-only car, Brabham Automotive says the option of a conversion kit for road use in Europe was driven by customer demand, specifically those who want the convenience of driving their car to and from the track.  

Costing around $225,000 over the projected AU$1.5 million base cost of the Adelaide-built car, the Road Compliance Conversion will be undertaken in the UK and consists of an increased ride height, modified steering ratio, and the fitting of door locks and immobilisers. The conversion also includes air conditioning and additional “high quality” upholstery throughout the cabin to make it more comfortable.

While the conversion can be done before or after delivery, each vehicle converted must pass an IVA (Individual Vehicle Approval) test to be granted road-legal certification. The first road compliant BT62s are expected to reach European customers by the middle of this year.

Whether the compliance kit will extend to UK-registered BT62s is unclear. The conversion option will be irrelevant in Australia, as all 70 units of the limited-edition BT62 to be built will be in left-hand drive, so locally-delivered cars will be limited to track use regardless.

On Brabham Automotive’s Le Mans plans, the company confirmed they will return to the World Endurance Championship (WEC) with a BT62-based car in the GTE class. Development is already underway, with the goal of racing by 2021 or 2022.

To be run as a full factory team and funded in-house by Brabham Automotive, along with its commercial partners and sponsors, the WEC campaign will be directly linked to the Brabham BT62 Driver Development Programme, making early owners of the BT62 part of the test team for Le Mans and providing Pro-Am racing opportunities for owners.

“Returning the Brabham name to Le Mans is something I have been working on for years, (but) we have a long road to travel to earn the right to compete at Le Mans,” said Brabham Automotive Managing Director, David Brabham.
“We look forward to developing the BT62 and future products while building a world-class competitive race team around the leading engineering and manufacturing talent we have in the business.”