Description
Alec Issigonis’ friend John Cooper, owner of the Cooper Car Company and designer and builder of Formula 1 and Sports Cars, saw the potential of the Mini for competition. Issigonis was initially reluctant to see the Mini as a performance car, but after John Cooper appealed to BMC management, the two men collaborated to create the Mini Cooper, and the Austin and Morris Mini Coopers debuted simultaneously in 1961. Some six years later, the Cooper MkIIs appeared and were more refined without diluting the out and out fun of these amazing little cars.The overall production figures of the Mk II were only just behind the earlier cars.
Launched in 1967, the Mk II Coopers are regarded by many, in hindsight, as the most attractive of the Mini Cooper evolution with the squared rear lights, larger rear window, and new grille, but still retaining the sliding windows and one or two early features so characteristic of the original Mini. The look is further enhanced with the slightly wider vented steel rims.
Offered here is an Austin Mini Cooper MkII, finished in the classic combination of Red with a Black roof. Exported to Sweden, where it spent the majority of its life, it was extensively restored in the 1990s. The Mini is said to present well and is offered with a file of invoices for works completed in addition to a certificate of authenticity. A huge amount of fun and we are sure will be a rewarding classic for the lucky next owner.
