# Brabham BT40 (F2/Atlantic)

- Source: https://racingcarnetwork.com/wiki/brabham-bt40/
- Publisher: Racing Car Network (racingcarnetwork.com), the race car marketplace
- Type: car · Brand: Brabham
- Discipline: formula
- Series: f2
- Era: 1970s
- Last updated: 2026-07-06
- For sale on RCN: https://racingcarnetwork.com/for-sale/brabham-bt40/ (0 live listings right now)

The Brabham BT40 was the marque's 1973 customer twin-track: Gordon Murray-era monocoque engineering sold into 2-litre Formula 2 and Formula Atlantic — the last true customer Brabham single-seater line.

## Specifications

| Spec | Value |
|---|---|
| Engine | 2.0 L BDA/BDG (F2) / 1.6 twin-cam (Atlantic) |
| Power | ~275 hp (F2) / ~160 hp (Atlantic) |
| Weight | ~450 kg |
| Gearbox | Hewland FT200 5-speed |
| Chassis | Aluminium monocoque |
| Brakes | Discs all round |
| Years | 1972–1973 |
| Class | F2 2-litre / Formula Atlantic (historic) |

## History

Under Ecclestone's ownership and with Gordon Murray shaping the drawing office, the BT40 (1973) carried Brabham's customer single-seater business into the monocoque age: a neat aluminium-tub design produced in 2-litre Formula 2 spec (BDA/BDG power) and 1.6 twin-cam Formula Atlantic form for the transatlantic market — the same package tuned to two ladders.

Its timing was the story's tragedy and its market's blessing: March's customer machine ruled the volume game and Brabham's focus was swinging wholly to F1, so the BT40 became effectively the marque's customer-car farewell. Results came at national level on both tracks — European F2 points and non-championship placings, Atlantic wins in the UK series and North America — without the works-backed championship push earlier Brabhams enjoyed.

Historic racing values exactly that finality: BT40s run in historic F2's 2-litre classes and vintage Atlantic grids, the Murray-era drawing pedigree adds designer-lineage interest, and the type prices under equivalent March 732s despite comparable usability — the collector's angle being simply stated: the last customer Brabham.

## Palmarès

European F2 points and non-championship placings 1973; British and North American Formula Atlantic race wins through the mid-70s as the fleet dispersed; national single-seater titles in second-life campaigns — now a regular in historic F2 2-litre and vintage Atlantic classes.

## What to check before you buy

Specification identity first: F2 (BDA/BDG 2-litre) and Atlantic (1.6 twin-cam) BT40s share the tub but not the value logic or eligibility — confirm which the car genuinely is and whether period conversion muddies the papers. Tub condition (skin corrosion, period repairs) is the structural audit; engines follow the usual builder-lineage-and-hours rules with the BDG the costlier custody. The last-customer-Brabham story plus Murray-era lineage is real provenance currency — under-priced against March equivalents, which is the persistent buy case.

## Did you know

- The BT40 closed two decades of customer Brabhams — the business that had put more privateers in single-seaters than any marque simply stopped, for F1.
- One tub, two formulas: BT40s were catalogued in F2 and Atlantic spec simultaneously — buyers ticked an engine box like optioning a road car.
- Gordon Murray's fingerprints on a customer car make the BT40 the affordable end of a designer lineage that runs to the BT46 fan car and the McLaren F1.

## Related entries

- Brabham BT36 (F2) — https://racingcarnetwork.com/wiki/brabham-bt36/
- Brabham BT30 (F2) — https://racingcarnetwork.com/wiki/brabham-bt30/
- Brabham BT42 — https://racingcarnetwork.com/wiki/brabham-bt42/
- Ralt RT4 (Formula Atlantic/Pacific) — https://racingcarnetwork.com/wiki/ralt-rt4/