Brabham announces Road Legal option for BT62

Owners of the limited edition Brabham BT62 track car now have the option of driving their cars on public roads, thanks to the new Road Compliance Conversion option that will make their cars road legal.

The Conversion option will first be offered in Europe where Brabham Automotive in the UK will handle the conversion process for the Adelaide-built BT62 at a cost of £150,000 (A$268,000). That’s excluding the price for the car itself, which carries a A$1.8m price tag.

The company says it is working on making a road legal conversion for Australia and “will aim to fulfill requests for a similar conversion in other jurisdictions”.

The conversion can take place before or after customers take delivery of their cars.

“Customers have the flexibility of completing the Brabham Driver Development Programme before converting their BG62 or requesting that their BT62 be delivered as a road compliant version. Given these cars are limited editions, tailored to the needs of each owner, we are keen to provide this flexibility to our customers where we can,” said Dan Marks, Commercial Director of Brabham Automotive.

Each BT62 with this option selected will be put through the DVSA (Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency) IVA (Individual Vehicle Approval) test. This test ensures it has been designed and constructed to meet and achieve all regulatory and legal standards to see the BT62 on the open road.

In addition to the regulatory requirements, specification changes will also be made to make the vehicle more usable on the road. This includes raising the ride height with a front and rear axle lift kit, increasing the steering lock range, adding air conditioning, fitting door locks and immobilisers, as well as adding high-quality upholstery in the interior.

Brabham says the objective was to make the car legal, safe and usable on the road with minimal compromise to its race-bred circuit dynamics. Whilst there will be a slight increase in weight there will be no reduction in power, retaining the 700bhp (515kW) power output.

The first road-compliant BT62 is expected to be delivered in summer 2019.

Commenting on the BT62 Road Compliance Conversion, David Brabham, Managing Director of Brabham Automotive said:

“We designed the BT62 to be an unrestricted, thoroughbred track car and our extensive test programme has revealed it to be all of those things. This isn’t a car designed for the road. With that said, it’s clear some customers are keen to have a road compliant option with their BT62, particularly to drive to and from the track. My father Jack was always customer focused and we will continue with that ethos.”