The Brabham BT46 is a British Formula One racing car that was introduced in the 1978 season and competed in the F1 races of that season and one Grand Prix of the 1979 season. It was designed by Gordon Murray. The Brabham BT46 was powered by a single, 12-cylinder Alfa Romeo 115-12 engine with a displacement of 3.0 litres and a power output of 525 hp.
The Brabham BT46 was a far-reaching development of the previous Brabham team car – the BT45. In the new model, Gordon Murray focused on improving driver safety, implementing numerous minor technological innovations, as well as compensating and reducing the considerable weight of the drive unit, which, although generating greater maximum power than competing models, also weighed more and burned more fuel. Ultimately, the car was difficult to drive, demanding of the driver, prone to failures, but also had very good performance and was able to negotiate corners at high speeds. Attempts were made to eliminate the shortcomings of the BT46 model in the very similar BT46B, but this was not entirely successful. In total – the BT46 and BT46B – started in 15 Grand Prix races – winning one of them. The most famous drivers who drove the Brabham BT46 were: Niki Lauda and John Watson.
