The Cooper Mark IV was a

Formula Three Formula Three, also called Formula 3, abbreviated as F3, is a third-tier class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One driv ...

and

Formula Two Formula Two (F2 or Formula 2) is a type of open-wheel formula racing category first codified in 1948. It was replaced in 1985 by Formula 3000, but revived by the FIA from 2009–2012 in the form of the FIA Formula Two Championship. The name retur ...

racing car designed and built by the

Cooper Car Company The Cooper Car Company is a British car manufacturer founded in December 1947 by Charles Cooper and his son John Cooper. Together with John's boyhood friend, Eric Brandon, they began by building racing cars in Charles's small garag ...

Surbiton Surbiton is a suburban neighbourhood in South West London, within the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames (RBK). It is next to the River Thames, southwest of Charing Cross. Surbiton was in the historic county of Surrey and since 1965 it has ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, in 1950. Following the adoption of the 500cc formula for F3 in 1949, Cooper evolved the Mark III to use a

JA Prestwich Industries JA Prestwich Industries, was a British engineering equipment manufacturing company named after founder John Alfred Prestwich, which was formed in 1951 by the amalgamation of J.A.Prestwich and Company Limited and Pencils Ltd. History John Pres ...

(JAP) single. The ladder frame was retained, with the aluminum body supported by hoops. Lockheed twin-shoe disc brakes became standard, coupled to two

master cylinder In automotive engineering, the master cylinder is a control device that converts force (commonly from a driver's foot) into hydraulic pressure. This device controls slave cylinders located at the other end of the hydraulic brake system. A ...

s. The suspension was

Fiat 500 The Fiat 500 ( it, Cinquecento, ) is a rear-engined, four-seat, small city car that was manufactured and marketed by Fiat Automobiles from 1957 until 1975 over a single generation in two-door saloon and two-door station wagon bodystyles. Launc ...

transverse

leaf spring A leaf spring is a simple form of spring commonly used for the suspension in wheeled vehicles. Originally called a ''laminated'' or ''carriage spring'', and sometimes referred to as a semi-elliptical spring, elliptical spring, or cart spring, it ...

independent suspension Independent suspension is any automobile suspension system that allows each wheel on the same axle to move vertically (i.e. reacting to a bump on the road) independently of the others. This is contrasted with a beam axle or deDion axle system in w ...

, used at front and rear.Kettlewell, p.429.

History

The Mark IV came in a standard version (T11) for F3, and long-wheelbase (T12) variant for F2. Standard for the T11 was a one-cylinder Speedway JAP engine. The T12 was powered by a 1000cc engine. The first 500 modified with a 1000cc JAP twin was prepared by customer Spike Rhiando in 1948. In 1949, a model powered by the engine from an

MG TD The MG T-Type is a series of body-on-frame open two-seater sports cars that were produced by MG from 1936 to 1955. The series included the MG TA, MG TB, MG TC, MG TD, and MG TF Midget models. The last of these models, the TF, was replaced by t ...

was built, and won on its first outing. Cliff Davis was the most successful driver to campaign one. Cars were supplied without engines, which the customer provided. (This would become routine in

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

in later years.) The T12s were best-suited for hillclimbs and sprints, not being durable enough for longer events. The F2 Mark IV, based on the TD-engined variant, appeared in 1952. It was powered by a

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

inline six, giving up to the Ferraris. At just , they had on the Ferraris, and better cornering, due to their mid-mounted engines. It made its debut in at Goodwood on

Easter Monday Easter Monday refers to the day after Easter Sunday in either the Eastern or Western Christian traditions. It is a public holiday in some countries. It is the second day of Eastertide. In Western Christianity, it marks the second day of the Octa ...

, run by

Eric Brandon Eric Brandon (18 July 1920 in East Ham, Essex – 8 August 1982 in Gosport, Hampshire) was a motor racing driver and businessman. He was closely associated with the Cooper Car Company, and was instrumental in the early development of the company. ...

and Alan Brown (for '' Ecurie Richmond'') and

Mike Hawthorn John Michael Hawthorn (10 April 1929 – 22 January 1959) was a British racing driver. He became the United Kingdom's first Formula One World Champion driver in 1958, whereupon he announced his retirement, having been profoundly affected by the ...

(driving for

Bob Chase Bob Chase (born Robert Donald Wallenstein, January 22, 1926 – November 24, 2016) was an American sportscaster, known for his long career calling play-by-play for the Fort Wayne Komets hockey games. For 63 seasons, Chase called the action on ...

). Hawthorn took the Formula Two event and one of the two

Formula Libre Formula Libre, also known as Formule Libre, is a form of automobile racing allowing a wide variety of types, ages and makes of purpose-built racing cars to compete "head to head". This can make for some interesting matchups, and provides the oppor ...

races, and came second behind González' 4½ l

Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...

in another ''Libre'' outing. It marked the first mid-engined entrant in Formula Two, and only the second

marque A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...

in top-rank European racing, following

Auto Union Auto Union AG, was an amalgamation of four German automobile manufacturers, founded in 1932 and established in 1936 in Chemnitz, Saxony. It is the immediate predecessor of Audi as it is known today. As well as acting as an umbrella firm f ...

. Mark IVs competed successfully in F2 throughout 1952 and 1953,Kettlewell, p.430. driven by Hawthorn, Peter Collins, and of course John Cooper himself, among others. (

Stirling Moss Sir Stirling Craufurd Moss (17 September 1929 – 12 April 2020) was a British Formula One racing driver. An inductee into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame, he won 212 of the 529 races he entered across several categories of comp ...

' unsuccessful Cooper-Alta was actually built by a different John Cooper, '' Autocar''s sport editor.) In September 1950,

Raymond Sommer Raymond Sommer (31 August 1906 – 10 September 1950) was a French motor racing driver. He raced both before and after WWII with some success, particularly in endurance racing. He won the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race in both and , and altho ...

died in a wreck at Cadours in a T12. It sold used at £425 in 1952. Arthur Owen modified a Mark IV with a streamlined

glassfibre Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass cloth ...

body and 250cc Norton engine late in 1957. Bill Knight used this car to set five speed records at

Monza Monza (, ; lmo, label=Lombard language, Lombard, Monça, locally ; lat, Modoetia) is a city and ''comune'' on the River Lambro, a tributary of the Po River, Po in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capit ...

Cooper T12

The Cooper T12 was a

racing car produced by the

. The car was developed as the long chassis version of the Cooper Mk IV design, making it eligible to use in both F3 (with

JAP ''Jap'' is an English abbreviation of the word "Japanese". Today, it is generally regarded as an ethnic slur. In the United States, some Japanese Americans have come to find the term very offensive, even when used as an abbreviation. Prior to t ...

0.5 L engines) and F2 (with JAP 1.0/1.1 L engines). In it made a single outing in a Formula One World Championship race, entered by Horschell Racing Corporation for

Harry Schell Henry O'Reilly "Harry" Schell (June 29, 1921 – May 13, 1960) was an American Grand Prix motor racing driver. He was the first American driver to start a Formula One Grand Prix. Early life Schell was born in Paris, France, the son of expatri ...

at the

Monaco Grand Prix The Monaco Grand Prix (french: Grand Prix de Monaco) is a Formula One motor racing event held annually on the Circuit de Monaco, in late May or early June. Run since 1929, it is widely considered to be one of the most important and prestigiou ...

, where he retired. It was also used by various privateers. Altogether it was used at 35 races, achieving two podium positions. Its only win was achieved by John Barber at the 500 Car Club Formula 2 Race.

Complete Formula One World Championship results

(

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

) (results in bold indicate pole position, results in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Notes

Sources

*Kettlewell, Mike. "Cooper: Forerunner of the Modern Racing Car", in Northey, Tom, editor. ''World of Automobiles'', Volume 4, pp. 427–433. London: Phoebus, 1974.
racing-database.com statistics

External links

Racing Database
*http://www.loosefillings.com {{F1 cars 1950 1950 Formula One season cars Cooper Formula One cars Cooper racing cars Formula Two cars Formula Three cars