Cooper T51

Cooper T51
CategoryFormula One, Formula Two
ConstructorCooper Car Company
Designer(s)Owen Maddock
PredecessorCooper T45
SuccessorCooper T53
Technical specifications
ChassisSteel spaceframe
Suspension (front)Double wishbone, coil spring and damper
Suspension (rear)Double wishbone, leaf spring and damper
Axle trackF: 55 in (1,397 mm)
R: 53 in (1,346 mm)
Wheelbase104 in (2,642 mm)
EngineClimax, Maserati, Castellotti, Borgward or Ferrari 2.5- or 1.5-litre straight-4, naturally aspirated, rear mid, longitudinally mounted.
TransmissionCitroen, Colotti (and others) manual gearbox.
Weight1,545 lb (701 kg)
TyresDunlop
Competition history
Notable entrantsCooper, Rob Walker Racing Team, Scuderia Centro Sud, Yeoman Credit Racing Team
Notable driversUnited Kingdom Stirling Moss
Australia Jack Brabham
New Zealand Bruce McLaren
United States Phil Hill
Germany Wolfgang Von Trips
United Kingdom Tony Brooks
France Maurice Trintignant
United States Masten Gregory
Belgium Olivier Gendebien
United Kingdom Roy Salvadori
Debut1959 Monaco Grand Prix
RacesWinsPolesF/Laps
24566
Constructors' Championships1 (1959)
Drivers' Championships1 (Jack Brabham, 1959)

The Cooper T51 was a Formula One and Formula Two racing car designed by Owen Maddock and built by the Cooper Car Company for the 1959 Formula One season. The T51 earned a significant place in motor racing history when Jack Brabham drove the car to become the first driver to win the World Championship of Drivers with an engine mounted behind them, in 1959. The T51 was raced in several configurations by various entrants until 1963 and in all no less than 38 drivers were entered to drive T51s in Grand Prix races.