Charles Cooper

Who is Charles Cooper?

Charles Newton "Charlie" Cooper was a British motorsport mechanic, designer and entrepreneur.

With his son John Cooper he founded the Cooper Car Company, which produced a string of successful racing cars through the 1950s and '60s. While John provided the enthusiasm and vigour that drove the Cooper company forward, it was Charles' shrewd business brain that provided the stability – and profitability – that laid the foundation for their sporting success. Regular works driver Jack Brabham won the World Drivers' Championship in both the 1959 and 1960 Formula One seasons driving the Coopers' revolutionary mid-engined cars, and the Cooper team itself took the World Constructors' Championships. Although they never again achieved the heights of a World Championship, the Coopers' innovative vehicles left a lasting influence on racing car design. Before 1959 all Formula One World Champions had driven front-engined cars; since 1959 no front-engined car has won the World Championship again.