Stirling Moss, Peter Collins, Stuart Lewis-Evans, Graham Hill, Trevor Taylor, Les Leston, John Cooper – these are just a few of the men who started their serious racing careers in Cooper 500 cc cars in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Several went on to become very successful Grand Prix drivers. Many, many more used the 500 cc formula to get experience and move into various areas of competition, some as professionals and others as amateurs.
Photo: Peter Collins
The 500 cc formula was a true breeding ground for racing drivers in postwar Britain, though the idea for an inexpensive racing series went back to prewar days, when a number of people were building and racing Austin-based specials. The “rules” for a new formula were put together but the war came and the 500 cc cars did not emerge until late in 1945. The early rules included a 500-pound minimum weight limit, a maximum of two cylinders and two gallons of fuel, and they had to be un-supercharged. The very first meeting to include the new formula was the Prescott Hillclimb in May 1946. The entrants included the Tiger Kitten with an inverted Austin 750 van chassis with a JAP (J. A. Prestwick) engine in the front, and the Strang, of Colin Strang, with a Fiat Topolino chassis, transverse leaf spring suspension and rear-mounted Vincent TT motorcycle engine which drove through motorcycle chains and sprockets. This Strang was the first real prototype of the 500 cc racer.
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