Elfin 400

Information

Elfin 400 Repco-Brabham.

Fitted with the first ever customer Repco-Brabham engine.

On April 7, 1969 during the Mount Panorama Trophy Race for Division One Sports Cars, the vehicle was involved in a fatal accident. Bevan Gibson was gaining ground on Frank Matich's Matich SR4 after it began to misfire and lose power on the Conrod Straight. Gibson drove closer and closer to the rear vacuum of air behind the Matich. He decided to take a risk over the hump toward the end of the straight, but went too far. The Elfin shot straight up in the air at around 260km/h as the wind got under it. The bodywork flew vertically into the air, up to an estimated 60-80 feet. The rest of the car slid to the right of the circuit, hit a bank and flipped. The car spun on its crushed rollover bar for at least 200 yards before coming to rest in flames on the right hand side of the circuit approximately 50 yards before Murrays Corner. The fire tender was dispatched, driving through heavy flames to reach to the car, but when the fire was finally extinguished, Bevan Gibson was already dead. The next day, one of the Sydney daily papers reported that Gibson had been burnt to death. However, he had only suffered a minor burn to his left shoulder. In reality, the cause of his death was a broken neck.