BMW (special) power

1983. After the ground effect cars were banned at the end of the previous season, engineer Gordon Murray started from scratch and he designed the Brabham BT52. Murray took a gamble and moved approximately 70% of the cars weight to the rear in an effort to obtain more traction.

Picture above: Nelson Piquet, power-slides his Brabham BT52-BMW (so much power) at the exit of the La Source hairpin at Spa-Francorchamps, where he finished fourth.

The car ran on Michelin tyres and was powered by the massively powerful BMW M12/13 turbocharged engine which produced approximately 800 bhp. Drivers were 1981 World Champion Nelson Piquet and Riccardo Patrese.

The car was easy to drive and Nelson Piquet used it to good effect. Fighting with Alain Prost in the Renault and René Arnoux in the Ferrari all season, he took three victories, scored consistently podium finishes and finally clinched the 1983 World Drivers’ Championship at the last race at Kyalami, South Africa.

Mid-season though, it looked like Alain Prost (Renault) had the edge on Piquet, but then German company Wintershall developed a special batch of fuel for BMW, and with further development on the car, Piquet prevailed. It must be said that this particular fuel seemed to be illegal, but Renault hesitated to protest, the management not wanting to win the title this way, and Nelson Piquet became the first driver to win the world championship with a turbo engine.

Picture : Nelson Piquet, Brabham BT52-BMW, at Monaco. Note the arrow-shaped design of this superb single-seater.