Yahoo Autos Brabham Automotive and the BT62 track car dead for now
Brabham Automotive, maker of the BT62 track car, was formed through a partnership between two Australian enterprises. Private equity firm Fusion Capital, with decades of involvement in Australia's transportation industry, worked out a deal with Brabham Group to license the Brabham name. As the "majority shareholder, sole funder, and operator of the Automotive company that bears the famous Brabham name," Fusion Capital bankrolled the operation, with David Brabham — youngest son of three-time Formula 1 champion Sir Jack Brabham and a Le Mans winner himself — the face and soul of the brand. Sportscar 365 reports the collaboration is officially over due to differences of opinion about the "strategic direction" of Brabham Automotive.
David Brabham said in written statement, "The decision to end the relationship was made after careful consideration and what was in the best interests of all parties and the brand." Mat Fitch, chairman of Fusion Capital, said in his own written statement that the investment firm is "committed to projects that push the limits and defy convention in the motorsport and automotive sectors."
The breakup seems to have been a slow burn. In July last year, Australian outlet Car Expert spoke to David about what he called "a reboot" for the company, wanting to build more units of the $1.8M AUD ($1.2M U.S.) BT62 and develop a more affordable variant. At the time, Brabham said in response to detailed questions, "Some of the answers are points of discussion at the moment, so we prefer to wait till these have been sorted."
