Background
Geri Horner (née Halliwell), Steve McQueen and Mr. Bean. One of the worst ever combinations on a fantasy dinner party guest list?
Quite possibly. But at least they’d have had one topic of conversation in common: at one time or another, they all owned and drove a Mini.
As did Madonna, Twiggy, James Garner, Peter Sellers, Mick Jagger and all four of the Fab Four. Even Enzo Ferrari had one.
Anybody who’s anybody has owned or at least driven a Mini at some time.
And it’s been popular in one iteration or another for 61 years because its groundbreaking engineering, cheeky good looks, surprisingly spacious interior and go-kart handling were exactly the breath of fresh air that most people - across all ages and classes - needed and wanted.
Sir Alexander Arnold Constantine Issigonis’s Mini was manufactured by BMC and its successors from 1959 until 2000. It is as much a defining symbol of the Swinging Sixties as the mini-skirt or the Zapata moustache. It is one of the few cars ever made that can genuinely claim iconic status.
In 1999, the Mini was voted the second most influential car of the 20th century behind the Ford Model T.
Whether equipped with the original 850cc engine or the later 1275cc unit, the power and torque outputs were relatively modest. But the car’s low weight and optimal, a-wheel-at-each-corner layout meant that it was both surprisingly quick and, at the time, almost uniquely agile. It was also affordable and cost-effective to run, insure, maintain and repair.
The Mini Cooper needs no introduction. Famous for the integrity of its engineering, handsome looks and giant-killing handling, it slew all before it, winning praise from drivers, vanquished competitors, pundits, and spectators, all of whom have kept it close to their hearts ever since.
The original 1961 version was humble, taking the standard Mini’s 848cc engine, albeit with a slightly longer stroke, to create the first dedicated Cooper engine, the 997cc. With twin SU carburettors it developed 55bhp, or 21bhp more than the engine upon which it was based. This, along with its miniscule kerbweight, close-ratio gearbox and disc brakes on the front axle, enabled it to humble far more powerful machinery.
A shorter-stroke, higher-revving 998cc Cooper engine arrived in 1964, shortly after the introduction of the high-performance Cooper 1071S, the version that is possibly the most revered Cooper of them all.
Only the cognoscenti will spot the relatively discreet ‘S’ badging front and rear – until the driver hurls the Cooper S at the horizon with unlikely fury on its way to a top speed of 95mph.
Its 70bhp and 62lb/ft of torque had only to haul 686kgs, which means that not only is it surprisingly quick but its front disc brakes, cooled by ventilated steel wheels, are stunningly effective. But the real reason for its success in the hands of folk like Paddy Hopkirk was that most corners could be taken flat.
Two new Cooper S models were introduced in 1964. Aimed at discrete motorsport classes, they had either a 970cc or a 1275cc engine under the bonnet. The smaller-engined car wasn’t a huge hit and was discontinued in 1965 after fewer than a thousand had been built, but the 1275cc model lasted until the entire range was binned in 1971.
