Another of our marvellous parades at the 2019 Revival was the Cooper Car Celebration, dedicated to the quintessentially British carmaker. Arguably one of the greatest British racing car manufacturers, Cooper was established in 1947 when Charles Cooper and his son John Cooper joined forces with Eric Brandon and began building rear-engined, single-seater cars racing cars.
The brand was built on enthusiasm for cars and the desire to bring affordable races to the masses – a winning formula, apparently. In 1959, Cooper won the Formula 1 on a budget of £10,000 – a mere fraction of their competitors – with works driver Jack Brabham at the wheel. They repeated the feat again the following year.
The Cooper rear-engine revolution stormed the sixties, in both Formula 1 and Indy 500. While the racing team had died by the mid-60s, the Cooper name lived on in the Mini, a car that bears the name until today.
A varied grid this weekend included Sir Jackie Stewart, who admitted that he’d ‘got his break in motor racing, proper, in a Cooper’, Tom Kristensen, Jeff Gordon and David Brabham.
Photography by Joe Harding.
Revival 2019
2019
Cooper Car Celebration
Revival
Gallery