{{Use British English, date=November 2017 Swift Cooper is a British race car constructor. The company was formed in 1986, when Frank Bradley bought the rights to the Swift name from

Swift Engineering Swift Engineering Inc. is an American spacecraft engineering firm that builds autonomous systems, helicopters, submarines, spacecraft, ground vehicles, robotics, and composite parts. Swift used to produce racing cars for open-wheel racing series ...

, and set up the company at

Snetterton Snetterton is a village and civil parish in Norfolk, England. The village is about east-northeast of Thetford and southwest of Norwich. The civil parish has an area of . The United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census recorded a parish population o ...

race course in

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

. Swift Cooper builds cars for

Formula Ford Formula Ford, also known as F1600 and Formula F, is an entry-level class of single seater, open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held across the world form an important step for many prospective Formula One drivers. Formula For ...

regulations. Swift cars won in the

British Formula Ford Championship The British Formula Ford Championship was an entry level single seater motor racing category, designed to give racing drivers their first step into car racing after karting. Drivers from around the world were attracted to the United Kingdom to ...

from 1993 to 1995 and the Benelux Formula Ford Championship from 1996 to 1998. In late 1995, the company was purchased from Brian Holmes by ex-

Formula 3 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 ...

racer Gavin Wills and ex-

Reynard Motorsport Reynard Motorsport was the world's largest racing car manufacturer in the 1980s. Initially based at Bicester and latterly at Reynard Park, Brackley, England the company built successful cars in Formula Ford 1600, Formula Ford 2000, Formula Vaux ...

sales manager, James Linton, who he had originally met fourteen years earlier as a teenager racing karts. The two moved the manufacturing operation and the race team from its

Chesterfield Chesterfield may refer to: Places Canada * Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan * Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom * Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England ** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...

, Yorkshire, base to

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

, Devon and employed a team of 21 people to design, manufacture and service the

single-seater race cars they produced. Over a period of three years (1996, 1997 & 1998) the company manufactured 75 cars for race teams around the world and won 27 championships worldwide. 1996 Formula Ford Zetec Championship wins * Swiss * Dutch * Benelux * Belgium * Portuguese * British Class B 1997 Formula Ford Zetec Championship wins * Swiss * Irish * Belgian * British Class B Clients included

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, ...

champions

Jody Scheckter Jody David Scheckter (born 29 January 1950) is a South African business proprietor and former motor racing driver. He competed in Formula One from 1972 to 1980, winning the Drivers' Championship in with Ferrari. Scheckter remains the only Afr ...

and Alan Jones who purchased cars for their sons

Tomas Scheckter Tomas Scheckter (born 21 September 1980) is a South African former racing driver best known for his time in the IndyCar Series. Early years Scheckter was born in Monte Carlo to 1979 Formula One World Champion Jody Scheckter and his first wife ...

Toby Scheckter Toby Scheckter (born 25 August 1978) is a South African racing driver. He is the son of 1979 Formula One World Champion Jody Scheckter, and the brother of IndyCar Series The IndyCar Series, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under ...

and Christian Jones to compete in South African and

Australian Formula Ford Championship The Australian Formula Ford Championship is an Australian motor racing competition for drivers of Formula Ford racing cars, held annually since 1970. From 1970 until 1992 it was a national series and from 1993 until 2013 the series was sanctione ...

s respectively. In 1998 the company moved to its new and present home at the

Castle Combe Circuit Castle Combe Circuit is a motor racing circuit in Wiltshire, England, approximately from Bristol. The circuit is based on the perimeter track of a former World War II airfield, and was opened for racing in 1950. History The Castle Combe a ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

and was sold to Alan Cooper to become Swift Cooper. A Swift car won the Finnish Championship in 1999. The first car under the new company name, the SC2000Z, was driven by Ollie Kaurala in the 2000 Championship.

External links

Swift Cooper
British racecar constructors Formula Ford cars