Brabham’s New Street-Legal Race Car Features the Most Powerful Non-Turbo V8 on the Road

Gentleman racers have just been treated a shiny new playtoy. Brabham Automotive has officially released a street-legal version of its high-octane BT62 race car.

First teased back in February, the road-ready supercar is fitted with the highest-output, naturally aspirated V8 on the market and promises a heart-pounding driving experience to rival the original track monster. The car has been dubbed the BT62R, with the “R” indicating the vehicle can be driven on public roads.

“Launching the BT62R is a great achievement for the team at Brabham Automotive,” Dan Marks, CEO of Brabham Automotive, said in a press release. “All the requisite design and engineering to turn the track BT62 into the road going BT62R has been done in-house by our team of engineers, which is a great testimony to their endeavor and expertise.”

According to the marque, the BT62R is almost as capable as its track-only counterpart but has received a number of important modifications to turn it into a suburban speedster. The car still packs a menacing 5.4-liter V8 that delivers 700 horses and 492 ft-lbs of twist, but it received revised engine mapping for use on the road. There’s a six-speed sequential gearbox with standard paddle shifters to make it more suitable for the streets. The exhaust system has also been tweaked to ensure the brute is quiet enough for the public.

The BT62R sports adjustable suspension so that the ride-height can be increased to cope with steep driveways, along with a modified aerodynamic package and new Eagle F1 SuperSport tires for smoother operation. The steering has also been altered to tighten the car’s turning radius and prevent any embarrassing 15-point turns.

The final touches are all about comfort. The car features an air conditioner, a heated windshield, a more upscale interior trim, a passenger seat, doors that can actually lock, side mirrors, and a reverse camera that feeds footage to the configurable digital control panel.

The BT62R appears to be just the beginning for Brabham. The automaker isn’t resting on its laurels. In fact, it also has a fully homologated road car in the works that will be officially announced in the coming months.

Brabham says it’s already received multiple orders for the BT62R, which is priced just shy of $1.5 million. The first models are already in production and will be delivered to customers in both the Northern and Southern Hemisphere over the coming weeks. With any luck, we’ll see one of these beauts on the road before long.

Check out more pictures of the BT62R below: