Cooper T53
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Category | Formula One, Formula Two | ||||||||
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| Constructor | Cooper Car Company | ||||||||
| Designer(s) | Owen Maddock | ||||||||
| Predecessor | Cooper T51 | ||||||||
| Successor | Cooper T55 | ||||||||
| Technical specifications | |||||||||
| Chassis | Steel spaceframe | ||||||||
| Suspension (front) | Double wishbone, coil spring and damper | ||||||||
| Suspension (rear) | Double wishbone, coil spring and damper | ||||||||
| Axle track |
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| Wheelbase | 2,310 mm (91 in) | ||||||||
| Engine | Coventry Climax FPF 2.5-litre straight-4, naturally aspirated, rear mid, longitudinally mounted. | ||||||||
| Transmission | Cooper 5-speed manual gearbox. | ||||||||
| Weight | 500 kg (1,100 lb) | ||||||||
| Tyres | Dunlop | ||||||||
| Competition history | |||||||||
| Notable entrants | Cooper | ||||||||
| Notable drivers | |||||||||
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| Constructors' Championships | 1 (1960) | ||||||||
| Drivers' Championships | 1 (Jack Brabham, 1960) | ||||||||
The Cooper T53 is a Formula One car built by British motorsport team Cooper for the 1960 Formula One season. Jack Brabham drove it to his second World Championship that year, and with teammate Bruce McLaren gave Cooper its second Constructors' Championship.[1][2][3][4]
A T53 was purchased by Honda as part of its own F1 development efforts and can be considered the forerunner of Honda F1 machines.[5][6]
The T53 was lower and slimmer than its predecessor, the Cooper T51. It was equipped with a new tubular steel frame clad in aluminium panels. Suspension was by double wishbones, coil springs and telescopic dampers all round, a change from Cooper's usual transverse leaf spring at the rear. Power came from the latest version of 2.5 litre Climax FPF which developed around 240 bhp and drove the rear wheels through a Cooper five-speed gearbox.
