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Cooper Climax T51

The Cooper T51 was the first car to win the Formula 1 World Championship with the engine behind the driver.

Cooper was founded by Charles and John Cooper in 1946. Charles had gained motorsport experience working for driver Kaye Don at Brooklands before World War Two. Cooper were successful in multiple areas of motorsport, winning the Formula 1 Championship in 1958 and 1960 with their pioneering rear-engined layout – still used in Formula 1 today.

Under the ownership of Swiss privateer Robert Adda, Gérard Laureau drove this car in Formula 2 events in France and Belgium and in the Formula 1 Solitude Grand Prix of Germany