Collecting Cars will soon open the bidding for the sale of a special car from Australia’s Brabham racing dynasty.
The online auction platform is about to list a Brabham BT59 Formula One car formerly raced by Australian driver David Brabham and Italian Stefano Modena during the 1990 F1 season.
“The BT59 is the car that created Formula One’s second Brabham car-and-driver generation,” Collecting Cars head of Asia Pacific Lee Hallett.
The BT59 echoes the design of current-day Formula One cars with a composite- material chassis attached to a fully stressed engine and six-speed gearbox. Its aerodynamic styling, the work of Hans Fouche, created one of the period’s most attractive F1 racing cars.
“The late 1980s and early 1990s are widely regarded as the beautiful era of Grand Prix racing cars and the Brabham BT59 showcase this simple and elegant style,” Hallett says.
The Sergio Rinland-designed racer was powered by a Judd V8 in 1990 but switched to a Yamaha V12 for the following season, along with drivers Martin Brundle and Mark Blundell.
The car offered for auction is BT59-5, chassis number five of five built. With direct input by Sergio Rinland, it has been meticulously restored to its precise specifications from the 1990 Australian Formula One Grand Prix in Adelaide.
Former F1 promoter Bernie Ecclestone retained a Brabham BT59 in his personal F1 car collection, underlining the model’s collectability.
The BT59 was the last Brabham F1 racer to be driven by a Brabham family member.
It is a full stop on the Brabham F1 motorsport story, made famous when David’s father, Sir Jack Brabham, won the 1966 Formula One Driver’s World Championship in the Brabham BT19.
He remains the only driver to win this championship in a car bearing his name.
This Brabham BT59 will appear at the 2025 Adelaide Motorsport Festival (8-9 March 2025) where David Brabham will drive demonstration laps on the former Adelaide Grand Prix street circuit, the first time in 35 years.
The Brabham BT59-5 will be sold in running condition with a Judd V8 engine fitted.
Bidding opens soon at collectingcars.com.
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