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Austin Cooper Works rally car tribute

General info

The Mini is a small economy car made by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and its successors from 1959 until 2000. The original is considered a British icon of the 1960s. Its space-saving transverse engine front-wheel drive layout - allowing 80 percent of the area of the car's floorpan to be used for passengers and luggage - influenced a generation of car makers.

In 1999 the Mini was voted the second most influential car of the 20th century, behind the Ford Model T, and ahead of the Citroën DS and Volkswagen Beetle.

This distinctive two-door car was designed for BMC by Sir Alec Issigonis. Issigonis' friend John Cooper, owner of the Cooper Car Company and designer and builder of Formula One and rally cars, saw the potential of the Mini for competition. Issigonis was initially reluctant to see the Mini in the role of a performance car, but after John Cooper appealed to BMC management, the two men collaborated to create the Mini Cooper. The Austin Mini Cooper and Morris Mini Cooper debuted in 1961.

The 848 cc engine from the Morris Mini-Minor was given a longer stroke to increase capacity to 997 cubic centimetres increasing power from 34 to 55 bhp (25 to 41 kW). The car featured a racing-tuned engine, twin SU carburettors, a closer-ratio gearbox and front disc brakes, uncommon at the time in a small car. One thousand units of this version were commissioned by management, intended for and designed to meet the homologation rules of Group 2 rally racing. The 997 cc engine was replaced by a shorter stroke 998 cc unit in 1964. In 1962, Rhodesian John Love became the first non-British racing driver to win the British Saloon Car Championship driving a Mini Cooper.

A more powerful Mini Cooper, dubbed the 'S', was developed in tandem and released in 1963. Featuring a 1.071 cc engine with a 70,61 mm bore and nitrided steel crankshaft and strengthened bottom end to allow further tuning, 4.030 Cooper S cars were produced and sold until the model was updated in August 1964. Cooper also produced two S models specifically for circuit racing in the under 1.000 cc and under 1.300 cc classes respectively, rated at 970 cc and a 1.275 cc, both had a 70,61 mm bore and both were also offered to the public. The smaller-engine model was not well received, and only 963 had been built when the model was discontinued in 1965. The 1.275 cc Cooper S models continued in production until 1971.

Source: Wikipedia

The car we sell

This Mini Cooper S Works evocation has been built with no expense spared. It is in fact a Cooper ( so not a Cooper S ) that has been restored from bare shell and built up as a Group 1 rally car. Everything in the car is new or restored to new. FIA-approved roll cage, seats, fire extinguisher, seat belts, full Works dashboard, Stilo intercom, Monit tripmaster, tire pressure meter etc… I can not emphasize enough on how thoroughly and professionally this car has been built.

I have a British Motor Heritage certificate and of course a fully documented file of the restauration, including hundreds of photos and bills that add up to more than 50.000 Euro. The car is a road car that is also eligible to drive (classic) rallies and has been used to do just that in no more than 4 rallies, including the famous Boucles de Spa.

And if you want to start a rally team of your own: my rally team was called Team Mad Mini. Visit the Facebook-page to see lots and lots of pictures of the car in action !
I do not only own that domain name, but also have several boxes full of brandnew merchandising, including T-shirts, hats, jackets, raincoats, stickers, flags, banners and many more ( worth far more than 5.000 Euro ). Whoever buys the car gets all this for free with it. Along with boxes of spare parts, 2 extra sets of wheels etc…

Do you feel like participating in the Monte Carlo ? Then this is the car for you !

More pictures here.