The Petrolhead Corner: Jack Brabham's Cooper Bristol T40 Formula ...

Can you name the one driver that has won a Formula 1 championship, while driving his own car, and running his own F1 team? I’ll wait, and let you think for a moment… Just kidding of course, because hardcore fans of the sport will immediately gravitate to Jack Brabham, the three-time Formula 1 world champion from Australia. But now that I have your attention, can you also name the car that gave him his Formula 1 debut? Well, it’s pretty much given to you in the title, but did you know this little bit of F1 Trivia? Admittedly, I did not, but the Cooper Bristol T40 that Jack Brabham lined up for to compete in the 1955 British Grand Prix at Aintree is coming up for sale!

Sir John Arthur “Jack” Brabham behind the wheel of the Cooper Bristol T40 during the 1955 British Grand Prix at Aintree – RM Sotheby’s. Sir John Arthur “Jack” Brabham

It must be said, Brabham’s Grand Prix debut was nothing spectacular or anything. It was a time where the sport was dominated by the likes of Fangio, Moss, Farina, Hawthorn, Ascari and many others. And even though there was no official constructor’s title yet (that came in 1958), it was Mercedes-Benz who had the best car with the W196, being piloted by Juan Manuel Fangio and Stirling Moss to a 1-2 finish in the Driver’s Championship, with Eugenio Castellotti coming in third in his Ferrari. No, Jack Brabham qualified in 25th and last place, a staggering 27 seconds behind Moss’ pole position time. During the race, things didn’t go much better for the Aussie driver, as his Cooper Bristol T40 suffered from multiple mechanical issues and eventually broke down on lap 30 out of 90.

But Jack Brabham’s rise to glory wasn’t halted by that miserable start. Prior to moving to Europe, he had already proved a very capable racing driver in his home country, winning a number of races and titles. Starting in Midget racing (or Speedcars) on dirt tracks, Brabham moved to road racing by the early 1950s. Racing a number of modified Cooper cars, racking up several more victories. He competed in the 1954 non-championship New Zealand Grand Prix and finished 6th in his Cooper Bristol T23. Dean Delamont, competitions manager for the British Royal Automobile Club at the time, persuaded him to try his luck in Europe.

After that dismal debut at Aintree, Brabham continued to drive Cooper sports and Formula 2 cars. By then, as a constructor, Cooper was already quite experienced with mounting the engine in the back, whereas most other cars were still front-engined. This meant the Coopers often handled much better, making them quite competitive despite being down on power. By the 1959 season, Jack Brabham had gained notable experience in F1 and had a very strong start to the season, winning the opening race in Monaco and then once more later in the season. This gave him his first championship, courtesy of the Cooper T51. A year later, he strung together 5 consecutive victories and again bested the opposition for the title.

By then, Brabham had set up a company producing customer racing cars which would eventually see the man himself vacating the Cooper seat in exchange for his own team; the Brabham Racing Organisation. The team weren’t very competitive throughout the 1,500cc years (1962-1966) but with the introduction of the 3.0-litre displacement regulations, things started to change. Fielding the 3.0 litre V8-powered Repco-Brabham BT19 and BT20 for the 1966 season, the BRO proved very fast and more importantly; reliable! Jack Brabham won in France, Britain, the Netherlands and Germany, securing his third World Driver’s Championship, and to this day remains the only diver in F1 to do so managing his own F1 team and driving an F1 car of his own development. Retiring from international motor racing after the 1970 season, Brabham would continue to be semi-involved in racing in his home country of Australia, and his eponymous team would continue in F1 until 1992, winning the Driver’s titles in 1981 and 1983 with Nelson Piquet. Sir Jack Brabham passed away in 2014 at the age of 88.

The Cooper Bristol T40

Coming back to Jack Brabham’s Formula 1 debut in 1955 means taking a closer look at the Cooper-Bristol T40. This car might look quite small and mundane, but make no mistake about it. This was a milestone in Formula 1, as it not only gave one of the sport’s greatest ever his first F1 start, but it was also the first-ever rear-engined car under Formula 1 regulations (pre-war Grand Prix cars like the Auto Union’s already had the engine in the back, but that’s a different story). And unexpectedly perhaps, it ran with full bodywork!

The Cooper Bristol T40 is basically a stretched evolution of the Cooper T39 chassis, with a new engine by Bristol and new bodywork on top. It has a steel tubular chassis with a 2.0-litre six-cylinder engine mounted behind the driver. The bodywork is drawn up from aluminium and actually covers the front and rear wheels, whereas most F1 cars are pure open-wheelers. Power from the engine was rated at roughly 180bhp, while the T40 tipped the scales at 510 kilos only! Although the concept proved pivotal in F1 engineering, the T40’s lifespan in the top-tier form of racing was short-lived, as it competed in just a single official Formula 1 race.

Following that single race at Aintree, the T40 lived a life outside of Formula 1, where it proved that the concept worked. It finished 4th in a race at Snetterton, where he battled with Stirling Moss lap after lap, and it won the 1955 Formula Libre Australian Grand Prix, a non-championship race. Brabham eventually parted with the car to fund his return to Europe. A move that in hindsight was a brilliant one, as Brabham went on to compete in 123 races, racking up 14 victories and three World Driver’s Championships and almost winning a fourth one in 1970. He came second in the championship, behind his fellow countrymen and Brabham racing driver Denny Hulme.

In 1964, the car ended up in the possession of Alan Robertson, who modified it to compete in sports prototype racing. Shortly after, the car was sold again and the new owner would restore it back to the original configuration, which it still has to this day. RM Sotheby’s now offers anyone the chance to obtain this milestone car in Formula 1 history through a private sale. The asking price for the Brabham-owned and -piloted Cooper Bristol T40 is set at EUR 350,000. Now, if that is a fair asking price or not, I do not know, but it sounds like a way to buy yourself into Formula 1 history if that’s your thing! Pretty cool, I’d say!

For more information on this wonderful little Cooper T40, please visit RM-Sothebys.com.

Editorial Note: The images portrayed, and information used for this article are sourced from and used with permission of RM Sotheby’s unless stated otherwise.