Further modifying the car to conventional offset-driving-position sports car form to meet yet more regulation changes, Penske then sold it to young Texan entrant, John Mecom Jr, and drove it for him to win the 1963 races at Marlboro and Cumberland, USA, plus the major international Guards Trophy at Brands Hatch, England.
Bruce McLaren/The Jolly Green Giant
However, it was in the ownership of Bruce McLaren that the car then cemented its legendary status. The then Cooper Car Company works Formula 1 team leader had long admired this Penske Cooper-Zerex and bought it for 1964. In between Grand Prix races for Cooper, Bruce would campaign it at sports car level under his new personal team ‘McLaren Motor Racing Team’ banner.
Using a similar 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Climax engine to Penske’s, Bruce drove it to victory in British international sports car races at Aintree and Silverstone, before having the car converted to use a 3.5-litre Traco-modified Oldsmobile V8 engine. Upon completion, the modified chassis was hastily finished in the only paint the team could find available on an English Sunday: garden-gate green, earning its soubriquet The Jolly Green Giant .
The Cooper-Zerex-Oldsmobile immediately notched up further race wins in the international Player’s ‘200’ race at Mosport Park, Toronto and, powered by an uprated 3.9-litre Oldsmobile engine, the international Guards Trophy race at Brands Hatch in 1964; the car’s second consecutive victory there after Roger Penske’s the previous year.
Fittingly, Bruce McLaren’s final race appearance in this Cooper-Zerex-Oldsmobile was at Goodwood where he started from pole position in the world-class 1964 RAC Tourist Trophy race, leading World Champion drivers Jim Clark and Graham Hill in their rival Lotus and Ferrari cars and setting the fastest lap before being forced out by clutch failure.
After its replacement in September 1964 by the prototype, entirely McLaren-built, M1 sports car, this Cooper-Zerex-Oldsmobile passed through three subsequent owners before being acquired by the vendor’s father in South America.
The Arrival/Discovery
Long preserved in dismantled form, this once-magnificent motor sporting gem has survived essentially complete – apart from body panelling – and still remarkably original. Following a six-week voyage from South America to the UK, the Jolly Green Giant has now returned to British shores.
L-R Allen Brown, Editor, Oldracingcars.com; Howden Ganley, last survivor of the 1964 Bruce McLaren team and Doug Nye, Bonhams competition car consultant, examine the Cooper-Zerex-Oldsmobile
Bonhams
It was greeted by Howden Ganley, last survivor of the 1964 Bruce McLaren team, and a successful later Grand Prix, Le Mans and CanAm car racing driver, Doug Nye, Bonhams competition car consultant and author of Cooper Cars, and Allen Brown, Editor, Oldracingcars.com, who witnessed the opening up of the treasure chest containing the once-magnificent sporting gem and examined its contents for authenticity.
Howden Ganley said: “I have always felt privileged to have been Bruce McLaren’s third shop-floor employee. Incredibly, it’s now 58 years since I helped team-mates Tyler Alexander and Wal Willmott work on the Cooper-Zerex-Oldsmobile. Having just examined this chassis frame upon its return to England, for me that is certainly the real car.”
Doug Nye added: “Opening the crate upon the car’s return to English soil, to find this iconic piece of motor racing treasure inside, has been truly memorable. I saw Bruce McLaren’s spectacular Goodwood TT drive in it back in 1964, and now here I am in 2022, handling such a piece of stupendous motor racing archaeology. For me it’s magical!”
Allen Brown commented: “I have known about this car for many years and to actually see it was just fabulous. It’s great to see cars before they are restored and it was a surprise that this was in such good condition. The climate in South America must be kind to metal as it would have been corroded had it been kept in this country.
The car was exactly as we expected it to look and the parts were exactly where they should be. It’s spot on.”
The Goodwood Revival Sale Goodwood Motor Circuit – Chichester PO18 0PH, United Kingdom September 17, 2022
Bonhams, founded in 1793, is one of the world’s largest and most renowned auctioneers, offering fine art and collectables, motor cars and a luxury division, including jewelry, watches, wine and whisky. The main salesrooms are in London, New York, Los Angeles, Paris and Hong Kong, with auctions also held in Knightsbridge, Edinburgh, and Sydney. With a worldwide network of offices and regional representatives in 22 countries, Bonhams offers advice and valuation services in 53 specialist areas. For a full list of forthcoming auctions, plus details of Bonhams specialist departments, please visit bonhams.com
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