The car in which Sir jack Brabham made his Formula One debut is up for sale.

 

The 1955 Cooper Bristol T40 was the first F1 car Brabham raced and was the first rear engine car to compete in the world championship. Brabham campaigned the car in the 1955 British Grand Prix at Aintree, qualifying last on the grid, some 27 seconds slower than pole-sitter Stirling Moss. After running last for most of the race he retired after 30 laps when the Bristol engine overheated. That would be the only Formula 1 race the T40 took part in, but the car’s impact on the sport would be long lasting, as the T40 was but the start of Formula 1’s rear-engined future.

Brabham also competed in the Bristol in the 1955 Australian Grand Prix winning the event on a tight circuit at Port Wakefield ahead of Reg Hunt and Doug Whiteford. This historic race car has been a regular at historic race meetings in the last forty years and was at one time owned by Sydney historic race car enthusiast, Kerry Manolas. Last year it was the subject of a 19,000-euro mechanical refurbishment to the engine and braking system including new brake drums. R.M Sotheby’s now has the car for sale with an asking price of 350,000 euros, around $412,000.