THE MINI COOPER was one of Britain’s great motor sport legends, an inspired confection that became the definitive rally car of the Sixties. In the 1964 Monte Carlo Rally, with Paddy Hopkirk at the wheel, the Cooper produced giant-killing performance, trouncing 4.7-litre Ford Fairlanes and coming first; followed in fourth place by yet another Cooper driven by Timo Makinen. After that it never looked back, winning the 1962 and 1964 Tulip Rallies, the 1963 Alpine Rally and the 1965 and 1967 Monte Carlo, as well as notching up more than25 other prestigious competition wins.
Because of its size, manoeuvrability, and front-wheel drive, the Cooper could dance around bigger, more unwieldy cars and scuttle off to victory. Even driven to the absolute limit, it would still cling limpet-like around corners, long after rear-wheel-drive cars were sliding sideways. The hot Mini was a perfect blend of pin-sharp steering, terrific handling balance, and a feeling that you could get away with almost anything. Originally the brainchild of racing car builder ]ohn Cooper, who received two pounds royalty on every car, the Mini’s designer, Alec lssigonis, thought it should be a "people’s car" rather than a performance machine and did not like the idea of a tuned Mini Fortunately BMC (British Motor Corporation) did, and agreed to a trial run of just 1,000 cars. One of their better decisions.
INTERIOR
The Cooper has typical mlly-car features: wood-tim Moto-Lita wheel, Extinguisher, Halda trip meter, rev counter, stopwstches,
and mzzpliglnt. Only the centre speedo, heater, and switches are Standard equipment.
ENGINE The 1071 cc A-series engineWeuid fev te 7200 rpm, producing 72 bhp. Creekehefe, con-rods, valves and rockers were all toughened, and the Cooper also had a bigger oil pump and beefed-up gearbox.
AUSTIN MINI COOPER
24 PK wears the classic Mini rally uniform of straight-hrough exhaust, Minilite wheels, roll bar, twin fuel tanks, and lightweight stick-on number plates. British Motor Corporation had a proactive Competitions Department, preparing racing Minis with enthusiasm and precision. The Cooper’s success in the 1960s is testament to the department’s work.
