Cool Car Award goes to.....The Brabham BT46B!

I'm a fan of cars.  I admit it.  And I'm also a fan of cars with fans.  I mean, every car has at least one fan (for cooling), so that means that I am a fan of all cars.  Which is what I said.  Oh, forget it.  But what I am talking about here is a car with a fan on the back.  No, the fan doesn't power the car, but it does something cooler; Creates downforce.  Downforce is very important when you're an F1 car, and that is what the BT46 was.  An F1 car.
          The BT46 was made in 1977 for the 1978 F1 season.  When first conceived, it had a few design problems, one of which was the cooling system.  The prototype car had flat panel heat exchangers in the bodywork of the car, to eliminate the need for a radiator.  However, the car had only 30% of the required cooling area, and had serious overheating problems, so the prototype project was abandoned.
          A modified version of the BT46 still raced in 1978, however, in the Swedish Grand Prix, and won, with the famed F1 driver Niki Lauda at the wheel (of course).  The use of downforce creating fans was outlawed in F1 racing later on, but it wasn't that year.  After the first race, however, Brabham withdrew the BT46B, never to race it again.

Interesting features of the Brabham BT46B
1.  It became known as 'the fan car'.
2.  It used an Alfa Romeo flat-crank V12 engine.
3.  It was designed by Gordon Murray, the same person who designed the incredible McLaren F1, and who is also working on the Gordon Murray T.50, set to be unveiled later this year.
4.  It was one of the first cars to use carbon in the brakes.
5.  The later modified version actually did have radiators, one in each nose piece, and eliminated the heat exchange panels.
6.  Brabham first claimed it's fan was for cooling, when in reality it was for creating a vacuum under the car to produce downforce.  Brabham tried to keep the fan a secret at first by covering it with a dustbin lid, but it was soon discovered, and the other race teams protested, saying that the fan flung debris on the other cars, although this was actually untrue.  The car was finally allowed to race after quite a bit of debate.
7.  The car was withdrawn in 1978 as a result of the head of Brabham, Bernie Ecclestone, was running for Formula One Constructors Association president, and while he did go on to win it and become president, that didn't change the fact that the BT46B never again saw a public race track, which isn't very fair.