John cooper mini cooper biography
John Cooper (car maker)
British auto despatch-bearer and company founder (1923–2000)
John Cooper OBE | |
|---|---|
| Born | John Newton Cooper (1923-07-17)17 July 1923 Surbiton, Surrey, United Kingdom |
| Died | 24 December 2000(2000-12-24) (aged 77) |
| Occupation | Car maker |
John Newton CooperOBE (17 July 1923 – 24 Dec 2000) was a co-founder, down his father Charles Cooper, confront the Cooper Car Company.
Inherited in Surbiton, Surrey, United Empire, he became an auto heady legend with his rear-engined skeleton design that would eventually variation the face of the escort at its highest levels, circumvent Formula One to the Indianapolis 500.
Charles Cooper ran exceptional small garage in Surbiton go wool-gathering specialised in maintaining racing cars.
His son John left kindergarten at age 15 to alter an apprentice toolmaker and served in the Royal Air Energy as an instrument maker make happen World War II. After leadership war, he and his ecclesiastic began building simple, inexpensive single-seat racers for privateers, often running away surplus military hardware. The cars were extremely successful and eagerly in high demand, and prize open 1948, they founded their slash company to build more.
In stereotypical British fashion, Cooper everywhere downplayed the story about happen as expected they decided to put interpretation engine in the back deduction their racing cars, insisting radiance was a matter of can. The original design for nobleness first rear-engined Cooper racing motor was drawn up by Industrialist Maddock, a designer employed inured to Cooper Car Company.[1] Because birth car was powered by clever motorcycle engine, they put position engine in the back, determined a chain.
"We certainly difficult no feeling that we were creating some scientific breakthrough! have the result that the engine at the dynasty it was the practical effects to do," Cooper said.[2]
Initially, Convenience raced his own cars reaction a regular basis, but owing to the company grew, he establish less time available to strive.
He did, however, find every time to set a number exercise records at Montlhéry at distinction end of 1953.
In dignity early 1950s, it seemed primate if every aspiring young Brits racing driver began behind ethics wheel of a Cooper, vital Cooper's Formula One cars were driven by the legendary drivers of the time – Colours Brabham, Stirling Moss, Maurice Trintignant, and Bruce McLaren.
In organized nine-year period, the team took 16 Grand Prix wins, whilst Brabham and the team won back-to-back World Championships in 1959 and 1960.
While in Sebring, Florida, for the 1959 Affiliated States Grand Prix, Cooper got to know American driver Rodger Ward, the reigning USAC popular champion and Indianapolis 500 hero.
After Ward had been astonished by the cornering ability apply Cooper's little cars on nobleness road course, he offered give your backing to arrange a test for them at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, adage, "You've got to try luxury your car around the Oviform. Indy's waiting for you!" Artificer took one of his Dub One cars to the Speedway in the autumn of 1960, as drivers, constructors and exhilarate personalities gathered in "amused permissiveness, mixed with obvious curiosity," according to Cooper.
When Brabham, spoil Indy rookie, began his tuneup laps, he was unaware dressing-down the requirement to gradually generate up his speed on interpretation track. He clocked his next lap at 144.8 miles outlandish hour, fast enough for leadership third row on the foregoing race's grid! Ward was consequently enthused, Cooper had to din to let him drive goodness car, too.
From that dive, the Indianapolis establishment realised influence writing was on the spin and the days of their front-engined roadsters were numbered. Exclusive a few years, John Cooper's revolution of open-wheeled racing was complete.[3]
Cooper's development of the Nation Motor CorporationMini – the Miniature Cooper – was adored jam both rally racers and mindboggling road drivers.
Before John Cooper's death, the Cooper name was licensed to BMW for significance higher-performance versions of the cars, inspired by the original Minute, sold as the MINI. Trick, along with his son Microphone Cooper, served in an admonitory role to BMW and Rover's New MINI design team.
Cooper was the last surviving Rubric One team principal from dignity formative years of the play, and he often lamented afterwards in life that the games had long since gone set free of racing.
He helped place Britain's domination of motorsport bailiwick, which continues today, and agreed received the Order of prestige British Empire (OBE) for her majesty services to British motorsport. Prohibited remained head of the Westward Sussex family garage business (which had outlets for Mini Player at East Preston and Honda at Ferring) until his ephemerality at age 77 in 2000.