2001 Rover Mini Cooper Sport

This Mini Cooper Sport is part of a varied and high-quality collection and has been afforded the kind of care and attention you might expect such a collection to bestow. 

Registered in February 2001 and built in September 2000, the car is number 1,793 out of 2,091 RHD Cooper Sport Minis built.

These late model Cooper Sports came with a variety of distinguishing features, including the following:

• Bonnet stripes
• Spot lamps
• 13-inch alloy wheels
• Wide wheel arches
• 62 bhp engine
• Silver Platinum roof
• Trimmed in black / silver leather for seats and steering wheel
• Metal style silver dashboard
• Polished alloy gear knob, handles and window winders.

The car’s overall condition is really very good even for its low mileage of 67,000 miles, let alone its age.

The car drives as you would hope and expect of a Mini Cooper Sport – only more so.

At some point the car has been breathed upon by renowned Mini engine whisperers, Downton Engineering, and the vendor believes the peppy, spirited, eager engine probably has around 15bhp more to offer than it did when it left the factory, courtesy of Downton’s fast-road camshaft LCB engine upgrade.

From a few feet away, you’d be hard pressed to tell the difference between this car and one that might have left the showroom last week.

Even with your nose pressed up against the bodywork you’d struggle to see much of a difference.

It really is in exceptional condition.

The bodywork is devoid of any dinks, dents or creases of significance that we can see anywhere.

The panel gaps and shut-lines look crisp and consistent.

As for the bright red paintwork, it has a shine and vibrancy that have not been diminished in any meaningful way either by use or the passage of time.   

The Cooper Sport alloy wheels are very good, too, save for a couple of small scuffs on the nearside pair, and the matching Yokohama tyres evidently have plenty of life left in them.

The accompanying steel space-saver wheel is also in very good order

If there are any minor paint chips or light scratches on this car, they’ll be so minimal as to be virtually undetectable. 

The lights, lenses, badging and all other exterior fixtures and fittings are beyond criticism, as far as we can see. 

Basically, it’s all very good indeed.

The interior is following the same script as its exterior counterpart, with nearly every aspect of it being in highly commendable, well-preserved condition.

The Nickel Silver and Black upholstery has weathered the vicissitudes of time and use with laudable stoicism.

The front seats have a very light and gentle patina that’s far more commensurate with the car’s low mileage than its age, and the rear seats don’t look as if they’ve ever played host to anything much heavier than a Panama hat or a handbag.

The door cards, carpets and mats are equally worthy of praise.

The only exceptions to all of this unrelenting good news are some worn away silver paint on the leather steering wheel rim, and a small patch of rather ragged and blistered alloy-look dashboard trim below the passenger-side air vent.

As far as we and the vendor are aware, all knobs, gauges, dials, buttons, switches and levers do as they’re told in a timely and faithful fashion.

Everything in the neat and tidy engine bay looks clean, dry and in its right and proper place. 

The car’s undersides appear to be possessed of great deal of structural integrity and nothing we’ve seen has given us any cause to doubt the car’s honesty or integrity.

The vendor has owned the Mini for 4 years and, shortly after buying it, he sent it off to the local automotive engineers who tend to his collection with a brief to thoroughly survey the car and rectify any mechanical issues.

Among the work carried out were the following:

• New ECU
• New factory key-fobs mapped to the new ECU
• New battery
• New, correct, Cooper Sport exhaust system
• Replacement, Monza-style fuel filler cap
• All and any auxiliary/ancillary parts replaced as necessary.

They also thoroughly surveyed the car to assess its structural soundness, the reason being that the car has Cat D designation and the vendor wanted to be sure that he wasn’t adding an unwise purchase to his collection.

Needless to say, they found absolutely nothing to worry about anywhere.

The Cat D classification was bestowed upon it, so the vendor was told, because of a damaged door (which was either repaired or replaced) in 2005 or thereabouts.

The car has received two full services in the vendor’s ownership, including the replacement of belts.

Its matching (and correct) Yokohama tyres have fewer than 600 miles under their treads.

The car’s history prior to the vendor is a little thin on the ground.

Since then, however, there are bills, invoices and receipts aplenty attesting to its timely and diligent servicing, maintenance and repair. 

It comes with a V5C, full sets of keys, and a recent HPI report. 

This is one of the very last of the original style Minis ever built and it comes in the sought-after Cooper Sport iteration.

It has the twin benefits of low mileage and the good fortune to have been owned by the vendor, a man who buys collection-quality cars and keeps them in the condition to which they’ve become accustomed.

We’re confident to offer this fine car for auction with an estimate of £10,000 - £15,000. 

Viewing is strongly encouraged, and this particular car is located with the vendor in Prenton, Wirral. To arrange an appointment to inspect this vehicle, please use the ‘Enquire About This Vehicle’ button on the listing. Feel free to ask any questions, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.