Brazilian dream

Wilson Fittipaldi set up as a constructor to build an Formula 1 car to race in 1975, with backing from the Brazilian national sugar marketing board Copersucar, after which the car was named. It turned out to be a Cosworth kit car on conventionals lines penned by designer Richard Divila, with notably sleek bodywork. It was not effective and Wilson Fittipaldi failed to make an impact on Grand Prix racing.
More could be expected of the of the new car FD04, outwardly a less striking design, but driven by Emerson Fittipaldi in 1976. He failed to qualify once, but partly offset this by finishing three races in sixth place, making Fittipaldi eleventh in the constructors' championship.
The F5 was designed by Dave Baldwin and echoed his sensible and practical design. It first raced in mid-1977, and served on through 1978, developed as the ground-effects F5A by Franco Caliri. The cars were built at the team's Reading base, for realism had led to a British headquarters.
In 1978 Emerson gained the highest placing ever achieved in a Fittipaldi car, second in his home Grand Prix at Jacarepagua.
In the next year the F6A was a failure, then, ironically as the Copersucar decals disappeared, the future seemed brighter. Fittipaldi Automotive absorbed some of the assets of the Walter Wolf team, notably designer Harvey Postlethwaite and team manager Peter Warr, as well as the cars which became F7s. The 1981 F8 served on through 1982.
Meanwhile Emerson finished third at Long Beach in 1980, and Keke Rosberg was third in the Argentine Grand Prix. At the end of the year, though, Emerson retired from Grand Prix driving, Postlethwaite went to Ferrari, and the team slid. Neither driver Keke Rosberg and Chico Serra scored, because the cars were under-developed and the team under-financed. In 1982 Chico Serra managed just one finish in the points.
A single F9 was completed could join the turbo ranks only with a sponsor as beneficient as Copersucar, and the state of the Brazilian economy in the early 80s meant that was unlikely for simple prestige. The team quietly folded after Serra had failed to qualify the F9 to start in the last race of 1982.

Drivers
1975 Wilson Fittipaldi
1976 Emerson Fittipaldi, Ingo Hoffmann
1977 Emerson Fittipaldi
1978 Emerson Fittipaldi
1979 Emerson Fittipaldi
1980 Emerson Fittipaldi, Keke Rosberg
1981 Keke Rosberg, Chico Serra
1982 Chico Serra