The addition of forced induction across the majority of the world's engine platforms has helped fuel economy, emissions, and performance reach new heights.
But, it's somewhat dulled the flow of interesting and engaging naturally aspirated engines as a result as manufacturers swap high revving hilarity for 'cheap' power. This is consistent even across some of the world's most famed sports and super–car manufacturers. The turbochargers present across the Ferrari 488 and Porsche 911's respective range's are testament to this.
And, as silly and shallow as it is, sound is among the big losses with this shift.
The love for things that sound good is primal, and still noted today. And while a lot of manufacturers are ditching some aural satisfaction for efficiency, some are remaining true to the craft. And they include Brabham Automotive.
The new manufacturer named after one of Australia's most famous names in motorsport revealed their BT62 supercar at the beginning of this month — a limited-numbers, track-focused (and track-exclusive) weapon weighing in at 972kg and built like a thoroughbred.
The fresh video above from Brabham showcases the car (camouflaged) while testing at Victoria's Phillip Island. And while it's nice to see the jigger in full flight, the single greatest thing about the clip is the BT62's utterly superb engine note.
Under the rear hatch is a naturally aspirated 5.4-litre V8 built in-house by Brabham Automotive to put down 522kW and 666Nm. Other stats like acceleration and top speed are yet to be made clear, but what we do know at least (despite the best efforts of the invasive 'Herculean' soundtrack) is that it sounds phenomenal.
In fact, bouncing the link to the video around the office, most of Driven's keyboardists noted that it sounded just like a V8 from the Supercars Championship. That's a difficult feat, given just how unique the big tin-tops sound like — a wonderful mix of perky revs and an aggressive transmission whine. Check out the video to see (or hear) it for yourself.
“Don’t think of the BT62 as a supercar or track-biased road car, think of it as an unrestricted GT racer – it’s in a different league," says Brabham Director of Technology and Engineering Paul Birch.
"Weighing just 972kg dry, it’s light. Very light. Factor in the car’s power, and the way the Brabham engine delivers its performance and you have an incredibly effective package.”