Just after Mike Hawthorn left Ardingly College in West Sussex in 1946, he acquired a rather battered Fiat Topolino 500 convertible, registration JPD 932. He seems to have used this for some racing practice, sliding it round corners with great precision, a glimpse of what was to come a few years later. We are unaware of what happened to the car - does anyone know?

This Topolino is seen at the Tourist Trophy Garage in 1952. It may not be Mike's as plate position on the rear differs to that shown in a known image of Mike with the car in 1946

Mike Hawthorn with his Fiat 500 Topolino that he used around 1946/47

The first cars Coopers built were single-seater, 500cc Formula racing cars powered by a JAP dirt bike engine. As raw materials were in short supply in 1947, the cars were made from the transverse leaf spring front and rear suspensions of two old Fiat Topolino front-ends found in a scrap yard!

John Cooper said that their, at that time, totally innovative choice of putting the engine behind the driver was just a practical matter - the car was powered by a motorcycle engine and they believed it was far more convenient having the engine in the back as it could then directly drive a chain at much greater efficiency.

This little car, the Cooper 500, was instantly successful on the track and created demand from drivers such as Stirling Moss and Peter Collins. Mike later drove Cooper-Bristol cars very successully.