1952 Cooper Bristol Mk1
by John Colley
Title
1952 Cooper Bristol Mk1
Artist
John Colley
Medium
Photograph - Photograph
Description
This 1952 Cooper Bristol Mk1 Type 20 was one of the leading Grand Prix Cars of its Day. These cars were raced by great British racing drivers like Mike Hawthorn
The Cooper T20 was produced beginning in 1952 and was powered by a L6 Bristol engine. The Bristol engine had been chosen because it was viewed as the best available 2-liter unit at the time. The manufacturer, Bristol Aeroplane Company based the six-cylinder engine's design on the pre-war BMW 328. The engine displaced 1971cc with hover-head valves actuated by cross-pushrods. In standard guise it produced nearly 130 horsepower, which was about 40 horsepower less than the competition.
The engine was lacking in power in comparison to its competition. Cooper chose to continue with the engine due to its availablity, reliability, and parts were in abundance. To compensate for its lack of power, Cooper devised an uncomplicated and lightweight chassis. The resulting car was the Cooper T20, also known as the Cooper-Bristol Mark I (MKI). A prototpye was debuted to the public at Hollyfield Road in early 1952.
The car was given a four-speed manual gearbox and a traditional Cooper suspension. The suspension included tranverse leaves and tubular wishbones. The chassis had been inspired by the Mark V 500 and featured a box-section chassis with holes drilled into the frame to reduce the overall weight. The steering was by rack-and-pinon with a 1.75 turns lock-to-lock. Located on all four corners were Cooper magnesium cast-type that measured 10-inches in diamater.
The prototype car was sold to Archie Bryde. Bob Chase purchase a T20 and it was raced by Mike Hawthorn who had much success with the car. At the Belgian Grand Prix, it was driven to a spectacular fourth place finiish. Late, a third place finish in the British Grand prix was achieved. A fourth at the Dutch Grand Prix earned him a fourth place finish in the World Championship. Hawthorn drove the car to a victory at the Lavant Cup where he was chased by two other Cooper-Bristols. Another victory was scored at the Formule Libre Chichester Cup.
Mike Hawthorn's career would continue with much success. The T20 had paved the way for this aspiring driver. The Cooper-Bristol T20 often outclassed the more powerful cars, though they had trouble beating the Ferrari's
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April 13th, 2012
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