The COAT - Round One - McLaren MP4/14 vs Brabham BT46

[crmalcolm]

The third match in the first round - we have a math up between a conventional design that delivered a WDC for Mika Häkkinen and a radical design that was short lived but well remembered. The McLaren MP4/14 vs Brabham BT46 - which is your favourite?

McLaren MP4/14 (snaplap.net)
The McLaren MP4/14 was the car with which Mika Häkkinen won his second Formula 1 World Championship title in 1999. The MP4/14 looked like its predecessor but McLaren team chief Ron Dennis once said that only 10% of the parts from the old car were used in the construction of the new one.
The McLaren MP4/14 without any doubt was the fastest car on the grid in 1999 but again the reliability was the problem.
Aerodynamics was improved in comparison to the previous model, Mercedes engine was powerful and the new car looked stable and well prepared for another double.
What do the numbers say?
The McLaren MP4/14’s racing record wasn’t impressive – 7 wins and a total of 16 podiums out of 16 races. At the same time, defending champion scored 11 pole positions and had 6 fastest laps, while the British driver scored 3 fastest laps.

Brabham BT46 (Bleacher report):
More commonly known as the "fan car," the Brabham BT46b was one of the truly innovative cars in the history of F1. Like the Tyrell P34, the Brabham is an example of when a manufacturer tried something really different.

As a counter to the dominant "ground-effect" cars of the era, the BT46B sported a large fan on the back of the car which sucked air from underneath the floor, creating huge downforce. Not only does this get into wacky races territory in terms of cool gizmos, but it holds another cool stat: a 100 percent winning record.

While the team tried to argue that the fan was for increased cooling, no one was buying it, and the fan was banned after one race in this configuration. Since Niki Lauda won that race at Anderstorp in Sweden, it goes down as a car that's never been defeated.

[BTCC frog]

It has to be the fan car. What a brilliant, innovative design. It's such a shame it was banned. This is probably my favourite F1 car of all time.

[Aysedasi]

The fan car was a great looker, but it's the Mac for me.

[chillibowl]

i picked the mclaren...but im still not sure how to vote for these.

for the drivers i held to the standard of wins/titles but with the cars im not so sure.

[Gerard C]

Originally Posted by Aysedasi

The fan car was a great looker, but it's the Mac for me.

Oui, la voiture aspirateur est unique. Seems that in a next future we'll see some words like interpretation, utilization or optimisation coming up. May be crmalcolm will suggest a "BCCOAT" one C meaning cheated…

[mj088]

Brabham for me for pure left field innovation

[Aysedasi]

Originally Posted by chillibowl

i picked the mclaren...but im still not sure how to vote for these.

for the drivers i held to the standard of wins/titles but with the cars im not so sure.

Strangely my approach is much the same, emotional rather than technical....

[Gerard C]

Cant imagine a poll with LM cars or other Sport Proto, Matra 670/Mazda 787, De Cadenet/Chaparral, BRM/Howmet…

[Aysedasi]

Originally Posted by Gerard C

Cant imagine a poll with LM cars or other Sport Proto, Matra 670/Mazda 787, De Cadenet/Chaparral, BRM/Howmet…

Now wouldn't that be good! So many great contenders! I wish I had crm's stamina/expertise to give it a go!

[Gerard C]

[S griffin]

The BT46. The fan car that was never actually banned, just put away to keep the peace within FOCA. Could have achieved so much more

[crmalcolm]

With a draw (something we never saw in the GOAT), I get to cast the deciding vote.

My vote goes to the Brabham for the following reason:

If you asked a young child to draw a race car, they would draw something closer to a BT46 than an MP4/14 - and probably throw something like a fan/turbojet to 'blow' the car along faster. I know that is not what it was used for here - but my vote goes for evocative nature rather than results achieved.