The Brasinca 4200 GT – Uirapuru. A Brazilian performance car projected in 1964 and sold from 1965 to 1966 that was the first Brazilian car to be designed using an air tunnel and the first Brazilian car to go over 200 km/h or 124 mph.

Presented at the 1964 Motor Show, the car immediately became the sensation of the event, attracting curious looks from the entire public present, and of course from all the specialized media, at a time when everyone was eager for a true sports car.

The entire project was developed by Brasinca, to show the technical capacity of the company, which at the time supplied stamped parts to most of the automakers installed here. A sports car designed and built by the company would be a good marketing strategy. Small series production, to order, began in March 1965. It was a car for few, due to its high price.

THE BODY

Unlike other sports car manufacturers, who used fiberglass, the Brasinca 4200 GT Uirapuru had a sheet steel body, with a monocoque structure mounted on its own chassis of hollow, box-type rectangular beams, with folded steel sheets resistant to damage, thus enabling a future convertible version.

Mounted at the front of the chassis, the Chevrolet six-cylinder engine, plus suspension, brakes and many other mechanical components from the GMB line, which only produced trucks and pick-ups in Brazil, as its first automobile, the Opala, appeared in 1968.

As striking as its power, was the modern and elegant design, with the recessed cabin and the long hood with straight lines, where its large engine was housed. The low and aggressive front featured two round headlights that clashed a little with the set, below, the wraparound driving lights at the ends of the body, the air grille with horizontal chrome trim, as well as a protruding air intake in the center of the hood.

The doors had an innovative shape, advancing a few centimeters above the roof of the car, which facilitated access, avoiding hitting your head, due to the low height of the car, but on rainy days it was a torment, as water dripped right on your head. of the occupants. Behind the front wheels came air vents, applied to a recess that continued like a crease along the entire side of the vehicle. At the rear, the large surrounding glass area was the highlight in fastback format, and with small wraparound lights that advanced along the side, and below the rear window a minimal lid of the small trunk, as the spare tire occupied a large part of it, which is acceptable in a sports car.

Aerodynamics was one of the concerns of its designers and was extensively tested, including being the first Brazilian car to undergo tests in the wind tunnel of the renowned Aeronautical Technological Institute (ITA), in São José dos Campos, state of São Paulo.

The strong six-cylinder in-line engine, duly prepared by Brasinca, was the same one used in Chevrolet trucks and utility vehicles. The torque, as expected from a utility engine, was high being and available from low revs – 32.7 kgfm or 320.68 Nm at 3200 rpm. The engine was prepared with an English triple SU carburetion and had three configurations: the 4200 version with original 155 hp camshaft, the 4200 S equipped with Iskenderian C4 camshaft with 163 hp, and the most aggressive with E2 camshaft with 170 hp. The latter came equipped with a four-speed gearbox, limited-slip differential and Corvette suspension and became known as the 4200 GTS.

With these engines, the car was not only sporty in appearance, it went really fast, reaching up to 210 km/h or 130.5 mph, with the GTS version reaching up to 230 km/h or 143 mph, very good for the time.

The Brasinca 4200 GT Uirapuru could go from 0 to 100 km/h without changing gears, just in first gear, thanks to the three-speed Clark gearbox and long differential, which gave an elastic relationship and a feeling of much more power than it actually had.

And thinking about driver safety, Brasinca developed a resistant anti-roll bar, a chassis made of light and resistant steel beams that are fully protected against impacts and a strong horizontal beam separating the engine compartment from the passenger cabin.

The rest of the set was traditional: front suspension with unequal overlapping arms, rear with a rigid axle (both with coil springs), drum brakes from the GM Amazona station wagon it is said that they did not use discs because importing them would deviate from the car’s nationalist proposal, a clear excuse, the 15.7-inch wheels with HS tires measuring 175 x 400. Stability was fantastic, as the weight distribution was close to ideal, 50% front and rear, but its tendency in curves was oversteering.

Inside, a wide central console divided the reclining seats, where the buttons for the lights, electric auxiliary fuel pump and windshield wipers were located. Above there is a complete gauge cluster covered in genuine, Brazilian rosewood, with seven gauges: speedometer, tachometer, battery gauge, fuel gauge, oil pressure, water temperature and analog clock. The controls were well placed within easy reach, the three-spoke Walrod steering wheel was large in diameter to make maneuvering easier without hydraulic assistance. Behind the seats there was a small space for luggage.

THE TESTS

In tests in Quatro Rodas magazine’s November 1965 edition, the Brasinca showed that it was truly a powerful and malleable sports car despite weighing 1,200 kilos. The large engine with three-speed gearbox ran well in various conditions without choking.

The ideal torque range was around 3000rpm, the speed is impressive. It took 10.4 seconds for 0 to 100 km/h or 0 to 62 mph.

According to the reporter, it was possible to surpass this mark if it was on an appropriate track. Drum brakes on all four wheels were able to stop the car. At the time, the Brasinca was unbeatable both in urban use and on the road. At the end of the tests, the reporters concluded: “The Brasinca, for aficionados, is a dream come true of a fast and surprising car.”

THE AFTERMATH

Just over a year after its launch, Brasinca lost interest in the car due to the high costs generated by the low scale of production, coupled with the country’s economic turmoil in the 1960s, opting to transfer the production and marketing rights to third parties.

In 1965, the project plus the tooling was sold to STV (Sociedade Técnica de Veículos), a design company of which Rigoberto Soler Gisbert, its creator, was director. The other partners were Walter Hahn Jr. and Pedro dos Reis Andrade.

The car at this stage is officially called Uirapuru, which was previously just the name of the project. STV continued producing the car in two versions: the 4200 S with 160 HP and the 4200 SS with 180 HP. Externally, the only change was in the headlights, which became square, replacing the old round ones.

THE HAWK PROTOTYPE (PICTURES 17 AND 18)

At the 5th Motor Show in November 1966, STV presented its traditional coupe and two new models: the convertible and the prototype of a station wagon called Gavião. The coupe and the new convertible, now with rectangular headlights that are more coherent with the frontal design, also gained a new exhaust with a single outlet, improving the noise level. Dashboard and door handles have been redesigned. Radio became standard equipment.

The prototype of the Gavião (Hawk) shooting break was a project intended for the highway police. It was armored and equipped with a radio transmitter, a stretcher for transporting the wounded, fire-fighting equipment and two machine guns built into the headlights, which were activated from inside the vehicle. This station wagon was never sold. The specimen displayed at the Hall was donated to the state for testing, and today there is no news of its whereabouts.

by OriginalPapaya8