Story and History

Cooper 'S' Monte Carlo Rally Spec

Multiple performace upgrades

60s icon

Classic Mini's have a certain charm that's almost unique to the marque, not to mention their timeless & irresistible style

Launched in 1959 against the back drop of post war austerity and a fuel crisis the Mini's chief designer Sir Alec Issigonis ingeniously turned crisis into opportunity with the creative use of space that became a trade mark for the Mini brand

Issigonis design eliminated anything superfluous and left only what was needed for a 'car' - even the heater was an optional extra

Since its inception the iconography of the Mini brand has grown exponentially having featured as the headline act of hollywood blockbusters, been adopted by the peace & love movement of the 60s and provided transport for many of the worlds great and good

The seeds for the Mini's crowning moment however were sewn when Issigonis asked for his automotive designing friend and colleague John Cooper to drive his prototype

Cooper very quickly realised that this fuel saving, tightly packaged, little car of the people handled like it was on rails and had a performance potential that far out reached the sum of all its parts

He convinced Issignois to let him create a Rallying version, and so it was that in 1964 a BMC prepared Mini driven by Paddy Hopkirk won the Monte-Carlo rally

The victory truly was a David conquering Golliath moment, the rally starting behind the Iron curtain in the Artic city of Minsk crossing most of Europe and her Alpes to finish at the seaside town of Monte-Carlo - a place equally adept at the creative use of space the Mini is so associated with

It was a victory for Britain as much as it was for Mini, defeating bohemuth Fords and rally specialists Lacia along the way the Mini had shown its greatness within half a decade of its inception and cemented its place in automtive folklaw

Original Monte Carlo Rally examples are like hens teeth and accordingly expensive too, well executed recreations such as this provide all the bang for a fraction of the buck

This magnificent car gives all the buzzing, fizzing sensation one could possibly hope for. Her sports bucket drivers seat holding you in place almost as well as she herslf hold the road. There are enough clocks & guages to fill a small museum and more toggles and switches to play with than you could dream of

Of course this is because she is fully rally ready with roll cage, racing harnesses, sliding windows, extended wheel arches, front splash guard, mud flaps, fog lamps, 10 icnh Minilites, stopwatches etc etc. All in the iconic red frock with white roof

In all something in the region of £40,000 has been lavished on this cracking little Mini to make her the car she is today, receitps and invoices on file

Crucially too her original 998cc engine has been replaced with a correct A-plus engine, bored all the way out to 1380cc!! Hopkirk's Monte-Carlo Rally car produced circa 70-80bhp, this is almost certainly producing more. Unsurprising really with various performance upgrades like an AC Dodd road sport cam and more...

She feels as spirited and spritely as they come, throttle response is instant, handling is almost telepathic and she makes the most brilliantly aggressive raspy noise. Cosmetically too she is sharp as a pin, with a beautiful finish in all areas and her adoring stickers and badges fitting perfectly

What a little cracker!