Classic F1 Cars – Brabham BT48

The Gordon Murray designed car was an all-new replacement for the banned ‘fan-car’ from 1978.The Brabham team owned by one B Ecclestone managed to take a radical new design from paper to track in six months. Murray described the car as one big wing from behind the front wheels to the back; when it first appeared it did not have the conventional rear wing it was more of a body extension, as it had been designed. Another first was the 3 litre V12 Alfa Romeo engine; the car at the time was reckoned to be the most expensive F1 car ever built. This would be the last Grand Prix season for no1 driver Niki Lauda who was teamed up with a very young Nelson Piquet. The car and the team had a poor season, handling was described as unpredictable and the partnership with Alfa ended before the championship finished. The unreliable Italian motor was replaced with the Ford DFV but not before it won a non-championship race, the 1979 Dino Ferrari Grand Prix at Imola with Lauda behind the wheel. The BT49 was introduced early at the Canadian GP in late September 1979. Piquet stayed with the team and was 2^nd in the driver’s championship in 1980 and the BT49c took him to a World Championship in 1981. if you have a classic motorcport image worthy of our website then please email it (with a full description) to info@classiccarmag.net. Article provided courtesy of Grant Ford - www.grantford.co.uk.Tags:Historic Formula One