Fan car
 BT46B "fan car" at Goodwood Festival of Speed, 2001 |
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| Category | Formula One | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Constructor | Brabham | ||||||
| Designer(s) | Gordon Murray | ||||||
| Predecessor | BT45C | ||||||
| Successor | BT48 | ||||||
| Technical specifications | |||||||
| Chassis | Aluminium Monocoque | ||||||
| Suspension (front) | Pullrod double wishbone | ||||||
| Suspension (rear) | Pullrod double wishbone | ||||||
| Axle track | Front: 1,549 mm (61.0 in) Rear: 1,626 mm (64.0 in) |
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| Wheelbase | 2,590 mm (102 in) | ||||||
| Engine | Alfa Romeo, 2,995 cc (182.8 cu in), Flat-12, NA, mid-engine, longitudinally mounted | ||||||
| Transmission | Brabham / Alfa Romeo 5/6-speed manual, Alfa Romeo Differential | ||||||
| Fuel |
Fina Agip |
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| Tyres | Goodyear | ||||||
| Competition history | |||||||
| Notable entrants | Parmalat Racing Team | ||||||
| Notable drivers | 1.  Niki Lauda2.  John Watson66.  Nelson Piquet
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| Debut | 1978 South African Grand Prix | ||||||
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| Constructors' Championships | 0 | ||||||
| Drivers' Championships | 0 | ||||||
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. This concept did not work in practice and was removed before the car’s race debut, never to be seen again. The cars, however, powered by a flat-12 Alfa Romeo engine, raced competitively with modified nose-mounted radiators for most of the year, driven by Niki Lauda and John Watson, winning one race in this form and scoring sufficient points for the team to finish third in the constructors championship.
The "B" variant of the car, also known as the "fan car", was introduced at the 1978 Swedish Grand Prix as a counter to the dominant ground effect Lotus 79. The BT46B generated an immense level of downforce by means of a fan, claimed to be for increased cooling, but which also extracted air from beneath the car. The car only raced once in this configuration in the Formula One World Championship—when Niki Lauda won the 1978 Swedish Grand Prix at Anderstorp. The concept was withdrawn by Brabham after one race even though the FIA had ruled it could be used for the remainder of that season.
The first Alfa-Romeo engined Brabham, the Brabham BT45 was an overweight and bulky car, initially weighing 625 kg and as wide as was permitted under the F1 technical regulations. This was due to the difficulties of packaging the large, powerful Alfa flat-12 engine and the fuel it required to complete a race distance. After lengthy development, it became competitive, but never won a race. In mid 1977, Brabham designer Gordon Murray started work on the ambitious design of the BT46. It was intended to compensate for the weight of the engine and fuel and allow the Brabham team to take a large technical step forward as well as to improve safety.
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