• Ex-Sir Jack Brabham T53 Lowline Cooper Climax
• Second complete ‘spare’ T53 Cooper
• Both offered with no reserve’
• Fabulous opportunity to purchase piece of Australian racing history
A fabulous circa-1960 Cooper-Climax T53 racing car once owned by the late three-times World Champion Sir Jack Brabham, is on pole position for Shannons up-coming Melbourne Winter Auction on July 16.
Adding to its collectibility, this ‘Lowline’ Cooper with its 2.5 litre Climax four-cylinder engine has a special local racing connection. It was purchased from Brabham and raced in early 1962 at Melbourne’s Sandown Park by four-times Australian Grand Prix winner Lex Davison – the late grandfather of V8 Supercars racer Will and Porsche champion Alex Davison
Gridding up next to the green and white Cooper in the Shannons Historic Racing desirability ‘Grand Prix ‘on July 16 will be another desirable T53 ‘Lowline’ Cooper Climax.
Offered from the collection of its long-term owner, this orange and white Cooper Climax has a chassis of unknown origin and its history is unclear.
The T53 was a development of the earlier Type 51 Cooper Climax that took Brabham to his first of three F1 titles in 1959. The T53 was the model that enabled Brabham to win the World Driver’s Championship in 1960 and for Cooper to claim the World Constructors Championship the same year.
Brabham famously also took one of the championship-winning Cooper T53 "Lowlines" to Indianapolis for a test in 1960, then entered the famous 500-mile race in a larger, longer, and offset car based on the 1960 T53 F1, running as high as third and finished ninth outright.
The ex-Brabham T53 ‘F11/8/60 ‘ being auctioned appears to have started life as a replacement built for Brabham late in 1960, using one of the chassis number assigned to the Cooper works cars that year (‘F11/5/60’, ‘F11/8/60’ or perhaps ‘F11/17/60’).
It competed in South Africa in December that year before coming to Australia and New Zealand for the International ‘Tasman’ series in 1961/62. Brabham reportedly used the car as a spare in the early part of 1962, preferring to race his newer ex-works Type 55 and he ultimately sold the T53 to Davison, who in turn campaigned it into 1963.
The Cooper then passed through successive hands and in recent years has been on display in the Len Lukey Museum, at Victoria’s Phillip Island Grand Prix circuit.
Because of its wonderful ownership history and its potential to again be a front-runner in Historic F1 racing after recommissioning, this famous Cooper Climax is expected to attract International attention in the $150,000-$200,000 range when offered with ‘no reserve’ on July 16.
The other T53 Lowline Cooper Climax being auctioned wears chassis number F11/5/60, but its origins are uncertain, as it is understood to have been built from spare Cooper T53 components.
Nevertheless, its potential to be a parts car for the authenticated ex-Brabham T53 or, with some research, to achieve FIA historic racing papers, makes it an appealing purchase for International enthusiasts and it is expected to command $70,000-$100,000 when offered with ‘no reserve’ at the auction.
View all Shannons July 16 Melbourne Winter Classic Auction Lots
For more information on the auction contact Christophe Boribon on (03) 8588 0809, or 13 4646 (Option 5) or email auctions@shannons.com.au.
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