.jpg) Zerex Special at Goodwood Festival of Speed in 2019 | |||||
| Constructor | Cooper Car Company (originally) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Predecessor | Cooper T53 | ||||
| Technical specifications | |||||
| Engine | 1962-1964:Coventry ClimaxFPF 2,751 cc (167.9 cu in)I4,naturally-aspirated,mid-engined 1964 onwards:Traco-Oldsmobile 3,500 cc (213.6 cu in)V8,naturally-aspirated | ||||
| Competition history | |||||
| Debut | 1962 Los Angeles Times Grand Prix | ||||
| |||||
| Drivers' Championships | 2:(1962 USAC Road Racing Championship,1963 SCCA National Sports Car Championship, Class D Modified) | ||||
TheZerex Special (Bruce McLaren called it theCooper Oldsmobile and did not refer to it as a McLaren, and it was also nicknamed theJolly Green Giant) was asports racing car. Originally aCooper T53 built for the1961 United States Grand Prix, it was rebuilt for usage in Americansports car racing, and featured open-top bodywork. Initially using a 2.75-litre version of theCoventry ClimaxFPFstraight-four engine, it later used aTraco-Oldsmobile 3.5-litreV8. The car won numerous races throughout its four-year career, being driven by drivers such as McLaren andRoger Penske.
In 1961,Cooper Car Company constructed chassis F1-16-61 for theUnited States Grand Prix.[1] Built to theT53 specification, the car was driven byWalt Hansgen, who competed withBriggs Cunningham's team.[1] However, he crashed out of the race after 14 laps, becoming the second driver to retire from the race.[2] The wreck was sold by Cunningham toRoger Penske, who replaced the damaged chassis tubing and added full-width enveloping bodywork and named the car theZerex Special.[3] Penske would then use the car inFormula Libre races that year, andTimmy Mayer would do the same in 1962.[1] Sold toBruce McLaren in 1964, the car was rebuilt with a widened chassis.[1] A 2.75-litreCoventry ClimaxFPFstraight-four engine was used in the new car,[1] which was officially known as theZerex Special, and unofficially as theJolly Green Giant.[1][4] In 1964,Bruce McLaren purchased the car, and replaced the chassis with atube frame unit of his own design, as well as fitting a 3.5-litreTraco-OldsmobileV8 engine in place of the Cooper Climax unit; as a result, he named it theCooper-Oldsmobile.[4] The car was sold again at the end of the 1964 season to Dave Morgan, who would use it for a further two years.[5] At the end of the 1966 season,Leo Barboza purchased the car, and used it in Venezuela.[1]
The Zerex Special's first appearance came towards the end of the 1962 season, at theLos Angeles Times Grand Prix (the fourth round of theUSAC Road Racing Championship) in October; Roger Penske, driving forUpdraught Enterprises, won the race by 14 seconds fromJim Hall and hisChaparral 1.[6] Penske then competed in thePacific Grand Prix, and took second behindDan Gurney'sLotus 19 Climax in the first race,[7] before repeating the feat in the second race, this time behind the Lotus 19 ofLloyd Ruby.[8] However, Gurney had retired from the second race due to a gear shaft problem, resulting in Penske taking the overall win.[9] Penske then entered the Zerex Special privately at theGrand Prix de Puerto Rico, and this time won the race by three laps from theCooper Climax ofTimmy Mayer.[10] Penske took the1962 USAC Road Racing Championship title (he had previously used the car in Cooper T53 form in the first two races), beating Gurney by 60 points.[11]
The USAC Road Racing Championship folded at the end of the 1962 season, so Penske drove the car forJohn Mecom'sMecom Racing Team in theSCCA National Sports Car Championship instead. He started 1963 in the same way that he'd finished the previous year; taking the victory, this time atMarlboro Motor Raceway, beatingBob Holbert'sPorsche 718 RSK into second place.[12] Penske skipped the second round, and instead his next entry came at theGreater Cumberland Regional Airport round; another victory, this time ahead of Hansgen's Cooper Monaco Climax, followed.[13] Penske then partneredHap Sharp in the second round of theUnited States Road Racing Championship (USRRC), held atPensacola Airport Course; the car's unbeaten streak finally ended, as an oil pressure issue forced the pair out after 74 laps.[14] Penske then drove the Zerex Special in a round of theCanadian Sports Car Championship, held atMosport Park; he took fourth, and was the last car on the lead lap.[15] He then returned to the SCCA series, for theRoad America round, but retired due to a blown engine after 24 laps.[16]
A trip to Europe for the Guards Trophy atBrands Hatch followed; Penske took the win, finishing ahead ofRoy Salvadori and his Cooper Monaco.[17] TheRoad America 500, however, would prove rather less successful, as Penske retired.[18] Next up was the race where the car had taken its debut win; the Los Angeles Times Grand Prix. This time, however,Dave MacDonald won the race in aCooper King CobraFord, and Penske finished second, a lap behind.[19] An aborted attempt at entering the Pacific Grand Prix followed,[20] instead,Augie Pabst was the next person to drive the car, retiring from theNassau Trophy after 26 laps, and being classified in 41st position.[21] Penske had also driven aFerrari 250 GTO in the USRRC, and was classified in joint-18th, with six points; level withChuck Cassel,Charlie Kolb,Don Sesslar,Jerry Titus andEnus Wilson.[22] However, he also won the Class D Modified category of the SCCA National Sports Car Championship.[23]
In 1964, the car was bought by Bruce McLaren, who ran it with his ownBruce McLaren Motor Racing team.[4] The Cooper-Oldsmobile's debut came in the second round of theBritish Sports Car Championship, held atOulton Park; however, an oil pressure issue after nine laps forced him to retire.[24] Things would be rather different at the next round, held atAintree; he won by 24 seconds fromJim Clark'sLotus 30 Ford, despite being in a lower category.[25] The fourth round, held atSilverstone, saw McLaren take another win; this time, from Roy Salvadori's Cooper MonacoMaserati.[26] The car was finally rebuilt into the "Cooper-Oldsmobile" for McLaren's next race, which was in the Canadian Sports Car Championship at Mosport; he beat Penske'sChaparral 2AChevrolet in the first race,[27] and Pabst'sLola Mk.6 Chevrolet in the second,[28] taking the overall victory as a result.[29] McLaren returned to the UK, and won the Guards Trophy Brands Hatch; this time, beating fellow countrymanDenny Hulme and hisBrabham BT8 Climax by 42.4 seconds.[30] McLaren then entered theRAC Tourist Trophy, but, having set the fastest lap, the clutch failed after 18 laps, and he was forced to retire.[31]
Dave Morgan purchased the car prior to the start of the 1965 season, and his first race with the car was a second place in a non-championship SCCA round, held at a track inStuttgart, Arkansas.[32] Morgan then ran the car in the Governor's Trophy, held at theOakes Field Course inNassau; he took sixth overall, fourth in the Sports 5000+ category, and fifth in the Over 2-litres division.[33]AlthoughJackie Stewart was initially selected to drive the car in the Nassau Trophy, Morgan drove once more; this time, finishing ninth overall, and third in the Sports 5000+ category.[34]
Morgan retained the car in 1966, and his first race of the season came at a SCCA regional race, held atGreen Valley Raceway; he finished second to theMcLaren Elva ofJoe Starkey.[35] The Governor's Trophy & Nassau Tourist Trophy would prove to be rather less successful; he lasted five laps before retiring, and was classified in 41st.[36] He would go on to take seventh at theNassau Classic,[37] and eleventh at the Nassau Trophy.[38] This was the last known race of the car, as it was used in Venezuela by Leo Barboza after 1966.[1]