Ex Jackie Stewart And Jack Brabham Cooper Up For Auction

What we have here, offered by Bonhams, is rather special. This little race car has helped an incredible array of drivers on their way to success, and allowed these individuals to realise their dreams whilst paving a legacy that few have rivaled.

This is a 1960 Cooper Monaco-Climax Type 57. The prototype was first used by Ecurie Ecosse in 1960 at the Le Mans 24-hour race having been built from a kit supplied. As a respected customer of Cooper, David Murray’s team was supplied with this, a coil sprung car that is part of a select few to never be recorded on the factory chassis book.

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Having a huge wealth of race car building experience, the car was put together at the teams Merchiston Mews workshop and was fitted with the 2½-litre Coventry Climax FPF twin-cam four-cylinder engine. Look at the chassis number, DM/733/W, and more intriguing information swings into view. Typically, Cooper Monacos were stamped ‘CM’, where as the beast sat here begins with ‘DM’, likely translating as David Murray.

The car won its first three races consecutively, starting with the Charterhall aerodrome piloted by Tommy Dickinson, then at Goodwood before returning to Charterhall. Following this swift and potent start into the world of motorsport, the car then flew in and out of the United States a number of times, whilst also helping the likes of Jackie Stewart get a drive that sent him on his three time world championship winning career.

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Other incredible names to be associated with this rare piece of motorsport history include Sir Jack Brabham, Roy Salvadori, Bruce Halford and Jimmy Blumer.

Having retired after one jaw dropping career, the car found itself in Major Thompson’s private collection by 1966. By 1970 it was time to move on, and the car was auctioned off along with other assets in the Thompson collection.

Amongst the crowd, however, was a nine year old boy by the name of Todd Jenkins. The American family was on vacation and happened to attend the auction where this little boy fell in love with the car. Having somehow managed to convince his father that this little Cooper was a necessity to family life, the hammer fell in their favor, and the car was shipped to the United States once more.

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It remained there until 1995, when Mr Jenkins had the car fully rebuilt to original factory specifications. All salvageable parts were refurbished where applicable, with the work carried out by Akin Motorsports of Ossining, New York. Bob Akin, owner of the business, having owned and raced his own Cooper Monaco since 1972, so evidently the man for the job.

Despite its restoration, the car has continued to seek race wins since, and clearly wears its heritage with pride. With such a decorated history and such an integral part of those heros in motorsport, who wouldn’t want this in their collection?

For more information, visit Bonhams.