Brabham BT8

Information

Sold to the Prince Motor Company in Japan in 1964, and used as the basis for the Prince R380 sports racing cars. The first R380 was completed in 1965 with a 1996cc 6-cylinder GR8 engine. In August 1965 it was taken to the Japan Automobile Research Institute (JARI) High-Speed Proving Ground, an oval track at Yatabe, near Tsukuba in Ibaraki Prefecture. Here the car exceeded international speed records in four E-class categories, but as Yatabe was not certified by the FIA, the records were only recognised as domestic records.

In 1966, the BT8 chassis formed the basis of three more chassis frames fabricated by Prince to create three more R380s, with a design by the company's chief designer Shinichiro Sakurai. The original BT8-based car could be distinguished by having its gear change on the driver's right; the later cars having it on the left. The four cars were raced in the Japan Grand Prix meeting sports car race in May 1966, finishing 1-2-4. When Nissan completed its takeover of Prince in August 1966, the cars became Nissan R380s, and raced again in the same event in 1967, finishing 2-3-4-6 behind a Porsche 906. Later that year, one of the R380s was used to set seven new International speed records. At the 1968 Japan GP meeting, R380s finished 3-4-5 behind the winning Nissan R381, and in the Fuji Speed Cup in May 1969 they finished 1-2-3.