The Cooper-Zerex sports car’s homecoming, see page 12, marks its survival as perhaps frontline road racing’s greatest-ever ‘transformer’, having in essence run in no fewer than seven distinct configurations.
The first was its 1961 form as a brand-new Formula 1 Cooper-Climax T53P, with 1½-litre four-cylinder FPF engine. Painted Briggs Cunningham white and blue it was crashed by Walt Hansgen in that year’s United States GP.
Its rebuilt form saw it converted for 1962’s major professional West Coast sports-car races. Buyer Roger Penske had it configured with a 2.7-litre four-cylinder
