1957 Cooper T43

The Cooper T43 was a Formula One and Formula Two racing car designed and built by Cooper Car Company for the 1957 Formula One season, first appearing at the 1957 Monaco Grand Prix in a works car for Jack Brabham. The T43 earned a significant place in motor racing history when Stirling Moss drove a Rob Walker Racing Team T43 to win the 1958 Argentine Grand Prix, the first World Drivers’ Championship win for a mid-engined car. Despite this achievement, the car was superseded almost immediately by the T45. The T43’s last appearance in a World Championship event was the 1960 Italian Grand Prix.

This 1957 Cooper T43 is one of approximately 30 examples of the rear-mid-engined formula racer built by the Cooper Car Company.

The 1,471cc Alfa Romeo twin-cam inline-four was installed during the seller’s refurbishment and breathes through twin Weber carburetors. Features include custom tri-Y exhaust headers, an aluminum radiator and header tank, a crankcase vent tank, and scuttle and pannier fuel tanks.

Eight-spoke bolt-on alloy wheels feature black painted centers and are wrapped in Dunlop Racing tires measuring 4.50-15 up front and 5.00-15 at the rear. Braking is handled by finned drums at each corner, with adjustable bias of hydraulic actuation from twin leading shoes at both front and rear.

The cockpit houses a single seat trimmed in black upholstery amid exposed aluminum panels. Features include a right-hand shifter and a three-spoke steering wheel with a Cooper hub. The black-trimmed dash panel houses Smiths instrumentation including an 8k-rpm tachometer and gauges monitoring oil pressure and temperature.

This Cooper T43 is a superb historic racer, which has proved to be extremely competitive in the right hands. This T43 is ‘on the button’ and boasts impressive contemporary provenance that makes it an opportunity not to be missed.