Special Feature

My F1 Car

Pete Lyons
Its one fan driven by its only engine, the 1978 BT46B was simply being cool, said Brabham. Five days after it won its only race, the FIA said different. Photo: Peter Collins

They swore me to secrecy at the time, but that time was long ago. And heck, the constructor doesn’t even exist any more. Maybe, I can finally tell about the Formula One car I helped design.

One day at a Grand Prix in the summer of 1976, Herbie Blash, a manager for the Brabham team, quietly questioned me about the infamous “Sucker” Chaparral of the old Can-Am. That innovative sports racer, as I’m sure we all remember, had ground effects generated by means of a fan system. The vehicle was banned at the end of 1970, and the idea had been forgotten.

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