Brabham BT17

Brabham BT17
CategoryGroup 7
ConstructorBrabham
Designer(s)Ron Tauranac
Production1966
1 car built
Technical specifications
ChassisSteel tubular spaceframe
EngineMid-engine, longitudinally mounted, 3.0–4.3 L (183.1–262.4 cu in), Repco RB620,[1] 90° V8, SOHC,[2] NA
TransmissionHewland 6-speed manual
Power~ 315–350 hp (235–261 kW)[3]
TyresGoodyear
Competition history
Debut1966

The Brabham BT17 was a one-off sports prototype race car, designed by British-Australian engineer Ron Tauranac, and developed and built by British manufacturer, constructor, and Formula One racing team, Brabham. It was built to Group 7 racing specifications, in 1966, and was the only Group 7 sports car built by Brabham.[4] Only one single model was produced.[5][6] It only contested three sports car races, scoring no wins, podiums, pole positions, or points finishes.[7]

It was also notably the last sports car to bear the Brabham name for 52 years, until the Brabham BT62 was introduced, in 2018. It was initially powered by a 4.3 L (260 cu in) Repco V8 engine, however, due to reliability problems with the original engine, the engine was swapped with a smaller 3.0 L (180 cu in) Repco 620 V8 engine, producing 315 hp (235 kW), and drove the rear wheels via a Hewland 5-speed manual transmission.[8][9][10][11]

  1. ^ "Repco Brabham Engines – primotipo…". primotipo...
  2. ^ "'RB620' V8: Building The 1966 World F1 Champion Engine…by Rodway Wolfe and Mark Bisset". 7 August 2014. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
  3. ^ "Repco Brabham RB760 – primotipo…". primotipo...
  4. ^ "VICTORIAN HISTORIC RACING REGISTER" (PDF). Retrieved 1 July 2022.
  5. ^ "Brabham BT17". Retrieved 28 June 2022.
  6. ^ "Brabham BT17". Retrieved 28 June 2022.
  7. ^ "In the hot seat -- Jack Brabham". Motor Sport Magazine.
  8. ^ "Engine Repco • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com.
  9. ^ "Brabham BT17 Repco Group 7 1966". GTPlanet.
  10. ^ Brown, Allen. "Brabham « OldRacingCars.com". OldRacingCars.com.
  11. ^ "Brabham BT17-Repco". Retrieved 28 June 2022.