Description
The notion that the Mini might have a future as anything other than basic transport was an anathema, the idea of a high-performance version was laughable. One man though, saw it quite differently. Racing car manufacturer John Cooper already knew quite a bit about tuning BMC’s A-Series engine, he was running the company’s Formula Junior effort at the time and a test drive in a prototype Mini convinced him of the car’s competition potential. The Mini Cooper soon established its credentials as a rally and race winner and the stage was set for even faster versions. The first of these, the 1071cc Mini Cooper ‘S’ of 1963, took engine development a stage further and provided the basis for the 971 ‘S’ and 1275 ‘S’ of 1964.
This stunning example is the aforementioned ‘S’ model from 1964 and has covered only 12,000kms from new. This puts the car at an average annual distance of just 218kms. This remarkably low mileage is clearly reflected by the condition of the car. This car really must be seen to be appreciated.
