F1 Fan Car 1978
Niki lauda and john watson were brabhams drivers for the 1978 season and it is speculated that they were told not to reveal the true pace of the bt46 b during qualifying.
F1 fan car 1978. The bt46balso known as the fan carwas a cunning gordon murray racer designed to one up the dominant lotus 79 in the 1978 formula one season. Few cars in formula 1 history made such an immediate impact and been such a long lasting talking point as the famous brabham fan car that won on its debut at the swedish grand prix in 1978. Using a boldly simple solution designer gordon murray generated low under car pressure with a large engine driven extractor fan. Brabham finished the 1978 season third in constructors championship points.
John watson and niki lauda qualified second and third behind mario andretti in chapmans hitherto dominant lotus 79 but in the race lauda stomped all over the black and gold car which broke down during a fruitless chase. In those five races completed lauda was always on the podium including two overall victories one of them coming from the fan car. Upon seeing pictures of the car consultant engineer david cox calculated that the bt46 had only around 30 of the cooling surface area required. They started the race.
Driven by didier pironi and patrick depailler it achieved several podium finishes including a win at the 1978 monaco grand prix. By the eighth round in sweden brabham produced its lotus beating bt46b. The brabham bt46 fan car as it became known was tested at silverstone and brands hatch prior to the swedish gp at anderstorp on 17 june 1978. Bits from three tv documentaries about the brabham bt 46 b formula one racing car designed by gordon murray for the brabhamalfa romeo team for the 1978 fo.
The brabham bt46 is a formula one racing car designed by gordon murray for the brabham team owned by bernie ecclestone for the 1978 formula one season. The car featured several radical design elements one of which was the use of flat panel heat exchangers on the bodywork of the car to replace conventional water and oil radiators. The tyrrell 008 was a formula one car manufactured and raced by the tyrrell racing organisation team during the 1978 season.