The Brabham's arrow-shaped design, harking back to an earlier age, stemmed from the banning of skirts because Formula One cars were becoming too fast around corners.
But it was a technological landmark because of its BMW power-plant - the first turbocharged engine to win the world title.
Turbo engines had been introduced into F1 by Renault in 1977 - an ill-thought-out equivalency formula allowed 1.5-litre turbo engines to compete against the three-litre normally aspirated ones - and for a time they were an unreliable joke.
But when Renault started winning races in 1979, and then Ferrari set new standards of power and reliability in 1981, it was clear the future had arrived.
After massive political rows, all the teams had to go turbo - and Brabham-BMW, with Nelson Piquet at the wheel, beat Renault and Ferrari to the 1983 title.