Jade Miniatures; Cooper Jaguar T33; 1955 24h Le Mans DNF; Whitehead & Whitehead; RN11

In 1954 Cooper was approached by Peter Whitehead, the respected Jaguar privateer who ran some of the factory’s fastest cars. Whitehead pined for a lighter version of the C-Type, so he commissioned Cooper to create a sports racer utilizing a racing-specification XK engine. Cooper had never built a car based on such a large motor, and the XK’s sheer size influenced him to rearrange several mechanical elements.

Cooper Works draftsman Owen Maddock drew up plans, and soon an all-new 91-inch-wheelbase chassis was formulated using large-diameter steel tubing. The company’s basic transverse leaf-spring suspension was beefed up with double wishbones and Armstrong telescopic shock absorbers, and 16-inch Dunlop disc wheels were mounted with Dunlop racing tires. The XK motor was mounted towards the rear of the engine compartment, mated to a standard Moss gearbox that transferred power to a modified Cooper-Bristol Mk II magnesium final-drive unit.

The new T33 Cooper-Jaguar was anchored by multi-pad Dunlop disc brakes and tipped the scales at approximately 1,848 pounds, substantially lighter than the D-Type. With seating forced to the side and the gearbox to the rear, the T33 chassis was mounted with curious head-faired coachwork similar to a Porsche racing spyder. Whitehead drove the car to numerous victories, including a minor race at Snetterton where he beat two C-Types.

This resin model is by Jade Miniatures, it was sourced from a private collection in July 2018