Ref 22
1959 Cooper Maserati T51
Chassis No. 12
As owner of the famous Scuderia Centro-Sud racing team and Maserati concessionaire for Rome, Gugliemo 'Mimo' Dei clearly enjoyed a close relationship with the Maserati factory. As a result of this friendship, Dei was able to purchase racing engines from the Maserati factory to fit into propriety chassis to enable him to enter Maserati engined cars into Grand Prix events long after the Maserati factory ceased to produce complete cars for single seater events.
By the late 1950's the writing was on the wall for front engined cars in single seater events, with Cooper and Lotus showing the more traditional Italian constructors the potential of the new layout. Whilst the ever traditional Enzo Ferrari resisted the trend, Dei realised that the Future could not be denied and ordered two Type 51 chassis from Coopers of Surbiton in early 1959 as well as a Cooper Monaco sports car, all to be delivered to Italy less engines, where his mechanics could fit 2.5 litre Maseratti engines allowing the cars to compete in Grand Prix events.
Envisaged as a Formula II car, the T51 was equally suited to the larger capacity power plants, and proved to be one of the most successful designs produced by the South London 'Garagistes' (as Enzo Ferrari famously dubbed both Cooper and Lotus, the new forward thinking English manufacturers). in 1959 Jack Brabham, driver, engineer and mechanic for the Cooper team secured the first ever championship for a mid engined car, and the first of his two consecutive world titles for Cooper. The following year he would drive a 'Lowline' Cooper, but in '59 he secured the title in a Coventry Climax FPF powered T51.
Dei's Scuderia Centro Sud team had been active in international racing for many years and campaigned the two car team of T51s throughout the 1959 and subsequent seasons, with a varying driver line up which in '59 included Ian Burgess, Mario Cabral and Colin Davis. In 1960 the hard charging American racer Masten Gregory joined the line up along with Maurice Trintignant, and in 1961 rising star Lorenzo Bandini added a further Italian name to the international line up.
Chassis number 12 raced throughout these seasons on some of the most famous circuits in the World including Monza, Buenos Aires, Silverstone and Pau. The Maserati 2.5 litre engine proving highly competitive and carrying on the strong racing lineage of the Maserati concern in Grand Prix racing.
Having been a regular feature in historic events in recent years, chassis 12 has been prepared and maintained in recent times by Paul Lanzante to the highest standards, including the 2.5 Litre four cylinder, eight plug Maserati engine. Finished in it's period livery of Italian racing red and bearing the name 'Scuderia Centro Sud' on each flank, chassis 12 remains as striking as it did on it's first outing. The car is fitted with white 'rose petal' style alloys, a style famously designed by Coopers eccentric in house designer Owen Maddock.
The car has been raced extensively throughout Europe, including the Monaco Historic Grand Prix 2002 and 2004 and remains one of the most charismatic and popular cars of it's era, and is regularly to be seen competing against the greatest cars of it's era, the golden age of the transition from front to mid engine configuration when these Coopers re wrote the rule book of racing design and confined such greats as the 250F to the history books. As a result of this fascinating transition, this era of racing remains one of the most fascinating and enjoyable for both drivers and spectators alike, and chassis 12 represents an excellent and competitive race ready entry into some of the most prestigious events on the calendar.
Dieser berühmte Cooper Maserati aus dem Jahre 1959 wurde von der Scuderia Centro Sud auf so illustren Rennstrecken wie Monza, Buenos Aires und Pau eingesetzt. In den letzten Jahren wurde dieser Cooper Maserati bei zahlreichen historischen Rennen eingesetzt, so z.B. bei dem Historischen Grand Prix in Monaco in 2002 und 2004. Der Wagen wurde in den letzten Jahren vom Spezialisten Paul Lanzante gewartet und überholt. Einsetzbar bei zahlreichen historischen Rennen auf dem internationalen Kalendar.
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