Famed car builder John Cooper passed away on Christmas eve after losing his battle with cancer, he was 77. John...
Conception, a friend of mine used to say, “is the biggest word in the English language.” His aphorism came to...
I was going through a pile of papers when I found the order of service for John Cooper’s funeral. I smiled. I have never found it possible to think of Cooper without smiling. Cooper had that effect on people. John was the public face of Cooper Cars, because he attended...
Richard Petty Antonio Ascari 3 Mark Donohue wins the USAC Champ Car race at Pocono, Pennsylvania, for Team Penske’s first...
Since the very beginning of motorsports competition, a common thread has run through the sport: It takes money to go...
1960 Kieft Formula Junior The history of British motorsport is rife with postwar racecar manufacturers that saw their genesis in the hands of a dedicated engineer or enthusiast. Names like Colin Chapman (Lotus), John Cooper (Cooper) and Eric Broadley (Lola) are just a few of such individuals that set out...
1972 Lola T290-Tecno Here is your first question for 10 points: How many racing car manufacturers have been going nonstop...
1959 OSCA | 1960 Lotus 18 | 1963 Brabham BT6 Regular readers of VR will know that we have a fondness for...
1968 Lolita MkI & the 1969 Lolita MkII My first car was a British Motor Corporation Mini. I had just turned 17 and, with $200 burning a hole in my pocket, I just had to have a car. I didn’t need one, of course, but fired with the impetuosity of youth...
1964 Cooper T70 For a youthful 26 year old, the lure of winning your own country’s premier motor race in...
The most famous race on earth may have a checkered past as part of the World Championship, but foreign flavor...
Among this year’s anniversaries is that of the Mini Cooper. John Cooper and Alec Issigonis became pals while competing in British hillclimbs in the immediate postwar era. Issigonis had resurrected his Austin-powered Lightweight Special, a single-seater with a monocoque and rubber suspension, while Cooper was developing his 500-cc cars. Issigonis...
The author puts his back into steering the Trimax through a left hander at Mallory Park.Photo: Andy Thorpe Was Alvin...
With the recent passings of Carroll Shelby, Roy Salvadori and Ted Cutting, all key players for Aston Martin’s World Sportscar Championship-winning team of 1959, it seemed reasonable to speak with another racer who worked in that fabled John Wyer-run team, Rex Woodgate. Woodgate is a notoriously detail-oriented mechanic who became...
Frankly, I was surprised at how easily it drove after some previous experiences I had with other open-wheelers. Owner Ed...
Carlo Chiti Emerson Fittipaldi 1 Scuderia Ferrari is formed as the Alfa Romeo factory racing team (1929). 2 Peter Gethin...
Mike Lawrence One of the delights of Vintage Racecar is reading the small ads and being reminded of the sheer diversity of historic racing. You have the big names, of course, but there are the lesser-known makes like Bolwell, Elden and Huffaker—to pick three from a recent issue. None of...
Photo: BRDC Archive My greatest racecar is not a car I actually drove, but it represents a missed opportunity I...
As a result of my 1967 win in the Kyalami Nine Hours, in South Africa with Jacky Ickx in the...
It’s amazing how some of the names forged into the history of motorsport were first introduced to it. Some have a family background associated with it, while others have their personal “road to Damascus” moment. This was the case with Mike Pilbeam, the designer and engineer who first worked with...
Having a father interested in motorsport, and him taking me to watch Tazio Nuvolari race at the 1938 Donington Grand...
“Boy’s Own” Racer Personally speaking, I’m not an advocate of racing specials, especially those cars built that have little, or...
As you’ll read in this month’s news, Bette Hill, wife of World Champion Graham and mother of World Champion Damon, has passed away at the age of 91. After meeting future husband Graham, at a rowing club function in 1950, Bette would four years later be swept up into the...
