BT44 White

BT44 White, the white of a formula car of the mid-1970s

The shade carries the name of the Brabham BT44 single-seater, one of the most elegant Formula 1 cars of its time. White was the basic body surface on the BT44: it covered the nose, the side radiators and the engine cover, and the colored stripes ran across it only in narrow bands.

The single-seater behind the name of the shade

The BT44 was drawn by the then young designer Gordon Murray, who used a lightened tubular structure with a slender wedge nose. Carlos Reutemann and Carlos Pace sat at the wheel, and the car was among the best on the grid for two seasons: Reutemann took several victories with it, and Pace won his home grand prix at the Interlagos circuit with the reworked BT44B version. For the 1975 season the stripes of a new partner were added to the white base, so the same car exists in two period forms. A modeler chooses accordingly how much room the light tone finally takes on the body.

Where the shade belongs

• bodies of Formula 1 single-seaters of the 1970s
• a white surface under thin colored stripes and race numbers
• front wings and engine covers on historic cars
• white parts of the transport machinery of period stables

For which modelers

It is meant mainly for collectors of historic formula cars who want a shade tied to one particular single-seater. The Number Five line is built on exactly that principle, so a whole period scheme can be put together from it. On the real subject it is worth noting how little bodywork the car actually had: a slender hull, uncovered suspension and an exposed engine mean that on a model the white meets a large share of bare metal and black parts.