Damn, I should’ve specifically asked you not to intervene as I was sure you’d know this one, and I wanted to see some guesses from the other guys. Anyway… since the English language info is rather, uhm, scarce, I’ve got a little present for you.
First of all, I’d like to thank my Brazilian friend Sinatra for taking the time to provide me with the following translation of info originally available at
Brasinca - Wikipédia, a enciclopédia livre and
Best Cars Web Site - Carros do Passado - Brasinca 4200 GT/Uirapuru (and with most of the pictures as well). Naturally, I didn’t have the heart to let it all waste away on my HD, so here it is:
History of the company
Founded in 1949 in São Caetano do Sul, São Paulo, the Brasinca Ferramentas, Carrocerias e Veículos S.A. (Brasinca Tools, Bodywork and Vehicles Ltd.) was primarily a company operating within the bus/truck bodywork construction branch, with a significant contribution for the Brazilian auto parts market (mostly producing parts for other companies and special vehicles). The company itself is still active even after its failed venture into the automobile market.
The beginning
Rigoberto Soler Gisbert, a Spanish-born Brazilian, started his career in the automobile industry at Vemag (famous for their versions of DKW products) where he designed a utility station wagon that didn’t reach the production stage. Later, while working at Willys-Overland, he was involved in the development of a sports car bigger than the Interlagos and equipped with the 2,6 cylinders engine from the Aero-Willys. Known as ‘Capeta’, that car was introduced at the IV Auto Show in 1964, but never went into production. The Capeta, however, clearly illustrated Soler’s wish to produce a high performance sports car. Notice the similarity to the later 4200 GT:
(Mac’s note: I don’t know about you all but I see a vague similarity to the Iso Grifo here!)
After Willys, Soler started working for the Brasinca company, which, at the time, didn’t have any experience with production of sports cars. He convinced his new boss (who was in charge of the products engineering department) to start the development of a high performance, high displacement sports car – something that had never been done in the Brazilian industry, since the Interlagos had a mere 845 cm³ engine. The project named X-4200 would soon become known as ‘Uirapuru’, the name of a wild bird from the Amazon rainforest (‘Musician Wren’ or ‘Organ Wren’ in English).
Since there wasn’t a compatible platform from a mainstream manufacturer available, Soler developed his own chassis of light bent steel and used General Motors truck engines:
The structure created by Soler was so solid that with the standard chassis it was possible to assemble a convertible version of the car without any compromise in overall toughness. Despite the possibility of using fiberglass (as was the case with almost every low-volume production vehicle developed in Brazil at the time), Soler chose to go with handmade sheet metal and templates, which considerably increased the production cost.
The result was presented at the IV Car Show in 1964. The car’s modern and elegant bodywork sported a short cockpit and an elongated hood, very typical of contemporary sports cars. The front was low and aggressive, with two round headlights and with turning lights placed on the edges, and a scoop in the middle of the hood. The doors had an untypical shape, utilizing a few inches of the roof in order to make the driver’s access easier due to the car’s diminutive height. (Later on, this peculiarity would pose an inconvenient problem: water leaks would occur as a result of poor isolation, demanding constant maintenance or even welding by the owner.) The hood opening of the prototype was quite unusual as well – intended to be lifted equally by its four corners. In the subsequent production version, this system was replaced by a conventional mechanism, opening the hood at the front of the car. The side mirror was placed far behind the windshield. Finally, the fastback design came complete with a huge rear window and a small trunk (whose space was taken up almost entirely by the replacement tire).
The interior was equipped with a large dashboard (with seven instruments) covered with a layer of noble jacaranda wood, and a Walrod sports steering wheel. Behind the convertible seats, there was a little room for luggage.
At the time, no domestic vehicle would be able to answer the Uirapuru’s demand for a powerful engine. The solution was to use the 4.3L inline-6 with 142 cv SAE from GM pickup trucks. With a standard compression ratio of only 7,3:1, Soler only replaced the single barrel carburetor with three SU H4 units (commonly used in Jaguars), achieving 155 cv SAE @ 4.000 rpm. Eventually, the Uirapuru would receive a more technically advanced engine: the Opala’s 3.8L inline-6.
Because the engine came from a pickup truck, a high amount of torque was naturally expected: it was able to deliver 32,7 m·kgf @ 3.200 rpm. Offered as an option, the Iskenderian Bravo C4 camshaft enhanced the power up to 166 cv without sacrificing much torque. The three-speed Clark transmission, as well as the hydraulic clutch and the differential were all locally made. The weight distribution of the car was near the desirable 50/50, but with a slight tendency to lose the rear end / oversteer.
Now officially called ‘Brasinca 4200 GT’, the car famously ‘hit’ 200 km/h at the Interlagos track, but several details still needed to be modified in order for it to be made available to the public.
The first two production units were subjected to numerous tests, including a wind tunnel which revealed a need for imminent adjustments to the front bumper, as well as stretching of the exhaust pipe in order to prevent combustion gases from entering the vehicle’s interior. When the car was finally ready for production, the first buyer (hailing from Rio Grande do Sul) paid in advance, and declining any sort of warranty, ordered an extra windshield, took his unit straight from the factory, and then vanished. Some time later he sent a telegram to the factory wherein he stated his satisfaction with the Brasinca. He never made any kind of contact after that, despite the factory’s repetitive efforts to gain more feedback from him.
The final product, the 4200 GT, was advertised as ‘the only Gran Turismo made in Brazil’, with acceleration from 0-100 km/h amounting to 10,4 s. Having hit the mark of 50 units manufactured under Brasinca’s brand, the company eventually decided that the low volume production wasn’t profitable enough, and decided to sell the rights to STV – Sociedade Técnica de Veículos (Technical Society of Vehicles) – owned by Rigoberto Soler (the car’s creator), Walter Hahn Jr. and Pedro dos Reis Andrade. The first thing they did was bring the Uirapuru name back.
Once STV put the Uirapuru back into production, they decided to assemble a racing team in an attempt to boost the car’s popularity. A more powerful version, named ‘4200 GT S’, was developed with this specific purpose in mind. With a higher compression ratio (now 8:1) and three Weber SJOE carburetors, the power of 171 cv was reached @ 4.800 rpm. In order to increase the performance even further, a four-speed gearbox (along with a limited-slip differential) was borrowed from the Corvette. Consequently, this particular incarnation could reach 210 km/h. A while later, a new racing version – now called ‘4200 GT SS’ – was developed. With 6 extra cv, an Iskenderian camshaft, a longer differential, disc brakes, and larger wheels and tires, this new model was able to reach 230 km/h.
In 1966, for the purpose of the fifth edition of the Car Show, the coupé was presented with new asymmetrical rectangular headlights which were more integrated with the front, a single exhaust pipe allowing for a significant decrease in the noise level, a revised dashboard and a new radio. The street version was now more powerful than the original model by 7 cv. It was on this occasion that the Gavião (see below) was introduced, as was the convertible version, with only three units made:
Due to poor sales, in 1967 the 4200 GT Uirapuru was discontinued after a total of only 76 units made between Brasinca and STV.
The Gavião (Hawk),
aka the police Brasinca
At the 1966 Car Show, Soler presented the public with a high performance vehicle designed for highway patrolling. The car, mounted upon the Uirapuru’s base, was basically a panel station wagon. Bulletproof, it was equipped with two machine guns installed behind the front grille. Although the model never went into production, it was speculated that the single unit made was actually donated to the Highway Patrol of the Via Anchieta. Even though the car subsequently disappeared, if discovered, it would be the most valuable Brazilian car of all time:
International plagiarism?
Low-volume production Brazilian cars based upon foreign models, or even copies, were very common in the domestic market at that time. But the recreation of a Brazilian style in the design of a foreign car was surprising… and that’s what many people believe to have occurred with the Jensen Interceptor (and the related FF). It’s just a matter of taking a good look at both cars to notice the similarity. The important thing to remember is: the Brasinca was presented to the public in 1964 while the second (and most famous) incarnation of the Interceptor was introduced 2 years later. Did Jensen actually take a look at the 4200 GT for a little inspiration?
That was a nice one,Double Mac. Apart from from the Iso Griffo like front and its stylistic resemblance to the Carrozzeria Touring styled Jensen Interceptor,it has other typical Italian styling cues like that Zagato trademark twin bubble roof,though subtle. These Brazilian cars are very hard to guess.Gets quite confusing!
Sorry Big Mac, I didn't know I was excluded. I was just guessing at what it looked like, I wasn't sure, and I didn't check. You the guy who is responsible for killing more threads with your unusual cars than anyone, is worried about me getting one once in awhile. It's such a pleasure when I can do that. I see nogrip still has you going.
OK, next one, let's see if it takes Big Mac more than 5 minutes.
