Vehicle Description
View high resolution photos
https://www.flickr.com/gp/149927902@N02/rx68Ej
Owned and raced by Hollywood and "Le Mans" movie celebrity Steve
McQueen
McQueen took part in California races, including Santa Barbara
street races
One of 2 Works cars campaigned by Team Tyrrell for Cooper in
1961
8 first place finishes, 18 total podium finishes under Tyrrell
racing
Owned by Skip McLaughlin, Steve McQueen's personal mechanic during
racing
Fully restored by Hardy Hall Restorations of Herefordshire,
England
Eligible for Goodwood Revival, Monterey Motorsports Reunion
This Cooper T-56 Formula Junior is one of only two Works cars
campaigned by the famous Team Tyrrell (known for their 6-wheeled
racecars) for Cooper in 1961. At the hands of South African driver
Tony Maggs, the duo won eight races that season: Goodwood,
Magny-Cours, Monza, Kalskoga, Rouen, Zandvoort, Oulton Park, and
Montlhery. Those 8 first place finishes and 18 total podiums gave
Maggs, Cooper and Tyrrell the European Formula Junior Championship.
With a championship under its belt, the Cooper went from racing
star Maggs and sold to up-and-coming Hollywood legend and "King of
Cool", Steve McQueen.
At the end of the 1961 racing season Tyrrell returned Magg's car to
Cooper, who then refurbished the car and sold it to rising
Hollywood star, Steve McQueen in January of 1962. McQueen had
attended Cooper's race school in England, and had become close
friends with John Cooper. McQueen would even stay in Cooper's son's
room when he visited. After becoming enamored with the championship
car, McQueen purchased it, along with a Mini-Cooper, and had both
of them shipped back to California.
McQueen immediately began racing his Cooper T-56 in California,
scoring a number of victories, including the Santa Barbara street
races. McQueen's performance in the car was so impressive that John
Cooper personally invited him to come and test for a Formula drive
in Europe.
Just as luck would have it for a competitive and aspiring race car
driver, McQueen's Hollywood bosses learned about his "other job" as
a moonlight racer and decided to intervene. In the pits right
before his race at Laguna Seca, studio lawyers surrounded him and
asked him a question, "Are you a movie star or a race car driver?
Choose."
McQueen had just finished his TV series "Wanted: Dead or Alive",
and had to made a huge splash starring in "The Magnificent Seven."
With "The Great Escape" on the horizon, the studio wasn't about to
take a risk with their new star. The ultimatum worked, and the King
of Cool would go onto become a Hollywood icon, not an F1 driver. He
wouldn't return to the track until he created his own studio, Solar
Productions, where he was the boss, and the boss liked racing.
When McQueen made his decision to suspend his racing activities, he
left the car with his mechanic, Stanley Petersen, to put to put it
up for sale. In 1963 Stanley sold the car to Al 'Buster' Brizard,
an extremely competitive driver in the SCCA. He ran the Cooper with
the BMC engine in 1963, a Cosworth engine in 1964, and finally an
Alfa-Romeo 1600cc engine in 1965, winning the Pacific Coast Formula
B championship. He captured 5 straight wins with the Cooper, and
its third championship in five years.
Brizard sold the Cooper to Robert Badilla in 1966, but reportedly
bought it back again in 1977, still racing, but now with wings and
wide tires. Skip McLaughlin, McQueen's original mechanic, was in
possession of the car from 1980 into the 1990s and gathered a great
deal of information on the car while in his ownership. Donald Sandy
is noted as an owner in 2000, and the last owner acquired the car
in October of 2003, after its discovery was reported in Classic and
Sports Car Magazine's Lost and Found section.
The owner commenced a profound restoration and engaged Hardy Hall
Restorations, of Herefordshire, England to return the T-56 to its
Tyrrell/McQueen configuration of dark green with white roundels and
stripes. It was restored from the ground up, a true nut-and-bolt
restoration, to race condition. Any parts that were not up to that
standard were replaced, rebuilt, or simply re-fabricated. An
original and correct five-speed ERSA gearbox was sourced, and the
car was fitted with the appropriate 1098cc BMC engine.
The documentation file contains not only extensive photographic
restoration documentation but also period photographs, including
some with the "King of Cool" news clippings, invoices, ownership
records, and correspondence with both Ken Tyrrell and John
Cooper.
Canepa purchased his piece of McQueen history to be displayed in
the Canepa Motorsports Museum, and is one of the very few members
of the museum that are for sale. This T-56 is eligible for the
Goodwood Revival, the Monterey Motorsports Reunion, and celebrated
classic series in Europe, American, Australia, and New Zealand.
With its successful storied past that makes it unique among a mere
30-odd survivors and a race-ready restoration, the new owner can be
assured that this special Cooper T-56 MK II is as right now as it
was over 50 years ago.
Engine:
BMC-XSP
64.4mm bore x 76.2mm stroke, capacity 1098 cc.
Wet sump. Single twin-choke Weber 45 DCEO carburetor.
#222429
Gearbox:
Citroen-ERSA 5-speed, with Jack Knight internals and selector, and
Cooper lid.
Magnesium bell housing
#27
1961 Formula Junior European Championship
Tyrrell Racing - Cooper T56 - BMC
FJ-2-62
April 3 Goodwood 1st Tony Maggs #57
March 26 Snetterton 2nd Tony Maggs #80
April 15 Oulton Park 14th Tony Maggs #58
April 22 Aintree DNF Tony Maggs #57
May 6 Silverstone 3rd Tony Maggs #5
May 13 GP Monaco 3rd Tony Maggs #126
May 21 GP des Frontieres 2nd Tony Maggs #58
May 28 GP de Magny-Cours 1st Tony Maggs
June 3 Brands Hatch 9th Tony Maggs #70
June 4 GP de Rouen 1st Tony Maggs #12
June 11 Circuito di Castello 8th Ian Raby
June 17 Charterhall 2nd Tony Maggs
June 25 Circuit de la Chatre 6th Tony Maggs
June 29 GP Monza 1st Tony Maggs #3
July 2 GP de Reims 2nd Tony Maggs #10
July 23 GP Stuttgart 3rd Tony Maggs #42
August 7 Brands Hatch 3rd Tony Maggs #70
August 13 GP de Nogaro 4th Tony Maggs
August 20 Kanonloppet 1st Tony Maggs #3
August 27 GP Det Danske 2nd Tony Maggs #2
Sept 3 Zandvoort 1st Tony Maggs
Sept 23 Oulton Park 1st Tony Maggs #43
Sept 30 Snetterton 3rd Tony Maggs #135
October 3 Montlhery 1st Tony Maggs #2
