John Cooper (or is it Bill Aston?) prepares for his record breaking run aboard the streamlined Cooper MkV JAP at Montlhery in October 1951…
Cyril Kieft had a successful record breaking run at Montlhery in November 1950 with two of his F3 Kiefts. John and Charles Cooper felt that matters needed to be put right with their fierce F3 competitor, so in October 1951 John Cooper and Bill Aston took a specially streamlined Cooper T17 Mk V to France to chase international class I and J records.
John Cooper went out first, using a 350cc JAP engine he broke the Class J fifty, one hundred and two hundred kilometre and fifty and one hundred mile records- plus the hour record, at speeds of 90.62, 92.13, 91.98, 92.02, 91.80, and 90.27 mph respectively.
Bill Aston then used the same car with the 350cc JAP single replaced with a 500 cc JAP vee-twin and achieved the same records in Class I at speeds of 99.30, 99.59, 99.13, 99.16, 99.41 and 99.41 mph.
John Cooper, timekeeper M Adam, and Bill Aston at Montlhery on 9 October 1951 (Getty)
Cooper Streamliner Specifications…
Salient details of the car are detailed in this contemporary ‘The Autocar’ article published in September 1951.
Story of The Cooper Streamliners…
Are told in these two interesting articles, check them out;
http://www.ugofadini.com/cooperstory.html
http://www.ugofadini.com/cooperstory2.html
(Castrol)
Bibliography…
‘Montlhery: The Story of The Paris Autodrome’ Bill Boddy, Castrol Achievements 1951
Tailpiece: Didn’t I ask you to move this bloody thing Owen?…
(Getty)
John Cooper, Charles Cooper and engineer/designer Owen Maddock, in the Cooper, Surbiton factory, photo 1953. John seems surprised to have ‘found’ the Mk V Streamliner!
Finito…
primotipo... 