The Brabham BT55 was a Formula 1 car designed by Gordon Murray and David North for Brabham team. It was powered by a turbocharged 4-cyl BMW engine angled to the side to allow clear air supply to the rear wing.
This technical innovation was motivated by the level of aerodynamic downforce required by the powerful turbo engines of the time that flirted with the 1400 / 1500 HP in qualification mode, especially in the case of the 4-cylinder BMW.
The car was entered in the 1986 season, but was not successful. Its introduction coincided with the end of Brabham’s time as a competitive team.
Murray’s following F1 creation (which he helped Steve Nichols design), McLaren’s MP4/4, is generally considered to be based on the same principles as its predecessor, the BT55, with a particullary low profil even though the engine was perfectly horizontal, and won 15 of the 16 races in 1988, making it the most successful Formula 1 car in History in terms of percentage of a season wins.
Brabham BT55 F1 Tough Phone Case
The BT55 is sadly also remembered as the car that italian driver Elio De Angelis died in at Paul Ricard Circuit during private testings, after crashing in the fast "La verrerie" esses.
As most of Gordon Murray cars, the BT55 was at least as beautiful and elegant as its livery.
Strangely, there's almost no video of that car on Youtube except some sim reconstitutions. If you'd like to see some images of the BT55, you just have to watch the 1986 Grand Prix races.
No comments:
Post a Comment