Brabham BT46B, 1978
The Brabham BT46B retired from Formula 1 with a 100% winning record, even if its career amounted to just a single Grand Prix. Built in response to the dominance of Colin Chapman and Lotus, the car won in Sweden and was then banned.
Brabham’s brilliant designer Gordon Murray realised in 1978 that, to beat the incredibly quick ground-effect Lotus 79’s, he would have to come up with a radical solution. The Alfa-Romeo flat-12 engine used by Brabham did not lend itself to ground-effect technology. Instead, Murray took his inspiration from the Chaparral 2J sports car, which dominated its class in the early 1970s.
The boxy Chaparral used two fans at the rear to suck the car to the track. Murray opted to use one giant fan on an updated Brabham BT46, connected by a complicated series of clutches and shafts to a Hewland gearbox. After secret testing the BT46B made its debut at the 1978 Swedish Grand Prix.
The revised machine was the source of much interest in the pit-lane at Anderstorp, where rival drivers and team members waited to see what was concealed beneath the dustbin cover at the rear. Once on track the car was immediately competitive in the hands of Niki Lauda and John Watson. After qualifying the BT46B’s were second and third quickest, behind Mario Andretti’s Lotus 79.
Andretti retired from the race, leaving the way clear for Lauda to dominate proceedings, winning by over half a minute from the Arrows of Riccardo Patrese. Watson was less fortunate and spun off. After the race the car was deemed to contravene a rule which banned moveable aerodynamic devices, although Brabham maintained the principle role of the fan was to provide cooling. Brabham team owner Bernie Ecclestone agreed to retire the car, but Lauda was allowed to keep his victory, which prevented Patrese and Arrows from scoring a maiden Grand Prix win.
Williams FW08D, 1982
The Williams FW08D six-wheeler which tested in the summer of 1982 was the second such car built by the team. In late 1981 they modified an FW07, giving it four driven wheels at the rear. Due to there being more rubber on the track it allowed the team to run front tyres all round. This meant that the ground-effect skirts could be extended further, providing extra grip.
1980 World Champion Alan Jones was the first to test the six-wheeled concept with the modified FW07. The car was subsequently tested by Keke Rosberg and Jonathan Palmer, setting competitive times. With the data acquired from these tests the FW08D was ready by the middle of 1982.
At a Donington test it proved to be incredibly quick, and certainly fast enough to worry the FIA. Within a short space of time four-wheel drive was banned, and it was stipulated that cars should have no more than four wheels. Over a decade later Palmer drove the FW08D at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, setting the fastest time of the day.
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