Cooper-Maserati T81 Formula 1

The Cooper T81 was one of the last Formula One racing cars produced by the Cooper Car Company. It was designed ahead of the 1966 World Championship season to operate within the new 3 litre engine regulations that came into effect that year. In place of the 1.5-litre Coventry Climax used under the previous formula, the T81 was powered by Maserati Tipo 9 2.5-litre V12 engines which had been bored out to 3.0-litres. John Surtees took the car's first win in the final race of the 1966 season in Mexico, and Surtees's replacement, Pedro Rodríguez, won the very next race, the 1967 season opener in South Africa. A T81B variant was first raced by Jochen Rindt at the 1967 Monaco Grand Prix. The T81's last race came at the start of the 1968 season in South Africa in the hands of privateers Siffert and Bonnier, as by this time the works team had moved on to the T86 chassis. As it happened, Cooper folded at the end of the 1968 season, making the T81 the last Cooper to win a World Championship Grand Prix.

Corgi made this car in two versions, the first release was No.156 which is dark blue with either racing number 7 or 8, this car was released in April 1967 and deleted in 1969. In 1969 a new version was released coloured yellow and white with a steering mechanism controlled by leaning the driver to right or left. This car remained in the range until 1972. The second release has added fins cast into the front of the car and a rear wing.

I remember the second one coming out; it was advertised in The Eagle, I was thirteen in 1969 and was beginning to grow out of playing with cars (although I've since regressed). I owned the non-steering dark-blue version which is an exquisite little model and I thought this new version was the worst thing Corgi had done - the colours were a disaster and that horrible blue driver! You move the driver from side to side to steer the car. However with hindsight it looks more like a new novel feature that didn't quite come off and compared with what was to come over the next few years it is really not that bad.