Greatest Racecar? Colin Crabbe’s Cooper 86B-Maserati

While not the greatest racecar of all time, the Cooper 86B-Maserati was that for me, as it gave me a good start in Grand Prix motor racing. Initially, I thought I’d make a great single-seater driver in the various club events that existed. I was studying Autosport magazine one day and saw a block advert from Coopers offering a Type 86B for sale. It was an 18-month-old car, it had three spare engines and God knows how many spare parts—£3,000. I couldn’t resist. It was delivered on the morning of a late summer’s day, very early, just about daylight—around 6:30 a.m. I was very excited and couldn’t wait for it to arrive.

Unloading the car, everything piled up with all the engines, spares and tires. I couldn’t wait to get in the car, but it was two hours later before I was assisted by my mechanic, Peter Bracewell, to get out. I was stuck, from about two seconds after I got in it. I realized from that point on I was never ever going to drive a modern single-seater. So, I knew I’d have to get one of my racing friends to drive it.