The Brabham BT46 occupies a singular place in Formula 1 engineering history, and its origin story begins before the car ever reached a circuit in competition. During 1977, while the team was still racing the BT45C, Gordon Murray's new design was being assembled and evaluated as a prototype — carrying race number 0, the conventional designation for a car that sits outside the championship entry list. This 1:18 scale model by GP Replicas documents that earliest, unraced configuration.
Gordon Murray's Flattest Formula 1 Car
The BT46 was built around the Alfa Romeo 115-12 flat-12 engine, a power unit producing approximately 510–520 hp in period estimates. Murray exploited the engine's low profile to create exceptionally slim side-pods, a packaging solution that set the BT46 apart visually and aerodynamically from every rival of the 1978 season. The design would go on to produce the BT46B fan car, which won the 1978 Swedish Grand Prix with Niki Lauda — but the story of that machine begins with the prototype work of 1977.
Race Number 0 and the Martini Stripe in Its Purest Form
Brabham ran the Martini & Rossi sponsorship livery from 1976 through 1979: a white base carrying the diagonal red, blue and dark-blue Martini stripes. On a prototype or show car entered under number 0, that livery appears without the adjustments in sponsor placement or number-panel treatment that race entries typically accumulate across a season. The 1977 No. 0 prototype therefore presents the Martini scheme in a clean, uncompromised form — a detail that matters to collectors focused on livery accuracy.
GP Replicas and the 1:18 Scale Model
GP Replicas is a specialist producer whose 1:18 Formula 1 models are built to a high standard of surface and mechanical detail. The model is supplied with a showcase display case, consistent with the maker's standard presentation across their range. The subject — a pre-season prototype of one of Murray's most consequential designs, in an unraced specification — is among the more specific and collector-oriented choices in the BT46 model canon.
Häufig gestellte Fragen
What is the Brabham BT46 No. 0 Prototype?
It is the pre-season test and prototype version of Gordon Murray's BT46, evaluated in 1977 before the car made its championship debut in 1978. The number 0 designates a car outside the official World Championship entry list.
Which engine did the Brabham BT46 use?
The BT46 was powered by the Alfa Romeo 115-12 flat-12 engine, a 3.0-litre unit producing approximately 510–520 hp by period estimates. Its low-profile layout allowed Murray to design particularly narrow side-pods.
What is the Martini Racing livery on this model?
Brabham carried Martini & Rossi sponsorship from 1976 to 1979. The livery features a white base with diagonal red, blue and dark-blue Martini stripes. On the No. 0 prototype it appears in a clean pre-race configuration.
Does the model come with a display case?
Yes. The GP Replicas model is supplied with a showcase display case.
