{"id":610735,"date":"2020-01-13T14:54:20","date_gmt":"2020-01-13T14:54:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/archive\/article\/\/\/speedshop-road-car-buying"},"modified":"2020-02-06T11:37:08","modified_gmt":"2020-02-06T11:37:08","slug":"speedshop-road-car-buying","status":"publish","type":"issue_content","link":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/archive\/article\/june-2019\/150\/speedshop-road-car-buying\/","title":{"rendered":"Speedshop Road car buying"},"content":{"rendered":"

Alec Issigonis didn\u2019t like old mate John Cooper\u2019s suggestion that his utilitarian creation was ripe for a performance upgrade and a future in motor sport. The Formula 1 team boss had seen the potential in a lightweight runaround with a wheel on each corner and his ideas found favour with the British Motor Corporation\u2019s board. The two friends then put their heads together and the Mini Cooper was born. <\/span><\/p>\n

The hot versions of Britain\u2019s favourite small car built through the 1960s went on, of course, to enjoy great success on both rally stages and race tracks. But the Mini Cooper\u2019s legend extends beyond its competition pedigree. It did much to secure the place of the Mini in the collective psyche of the motoring world. Think the Swinging Sixties \u2014 George Harrison, Mick Jagger and Steve McQueen all owned and were seen driving Coopers \u2014 and The Italian Job<\/i>.<\/p>\n

\"The
The Mini Cooper enjoyed a production run that spanned the 1960s, \u201970s, \u201980s and even \u201990s<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The original Minis \u2014 which weren\u2019t really called Minis at all, but Austin Sevens and Morris Mini-Minors instead \u2014 rolled off the production line in 1959 with just 34bhp from their 848cc A-series engines. The Cooper\u2019s longer stroke took the engine out to 997cc, and with twin SU carburettors and larger inlet valves, its power was rated at a heady 54bhp on the release of the first cars in 1961. <\/span><\/p>\n

The performance upgrade was coupled with a close-ratio gearbox, tiny disc brakes at the front developed by Lockheed and, at least on the car tested in the pages of Motor Sport<\/i> by Bill Boddy, premium Dunlop Gold Seal tyres. That\u2019s not to forget proper door handles rather than the down to earth pulls of the first Minis.<\/p>\n

Just 1000 cars were initially signed off in order to meet the Group 2 homologation requirements. Motor sport successes followed thick and fast: John Love won the British Saloon Car Championship title in 1962 and Pat Moss triumphed in the Tulip Rally in the Netherlands that same year. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"A
A British icon: the Mini Cooper had near-unrivalled handling due to its short chassis and wheels at each corner<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Mini Cooper S arrived in 1963, initially powered by a 1071cc engine and then a 1275 version, and with servo-assisted brakes thrown in. <\/span><\/p>\n

It was the Cooper S that claimed three Monte Carlo Rally victories in the four years between 1964 and \u201967 with Paddy Hopkirk, Timo M\u00e4kinen and Rauno Aaltonen. But the world knows it would have been four but for intransigent officialdom in the 1966 event. The Cooper S enjoyed success on the track as well, Warwick Banks taking the title in what was then called the European Touring Car Challenge in 1964. <\/span><\/p>\n

The Cooper bowed out in 1971, temporarily as it turned out, when the single Mini performance model became the squared-off Clubman 1275GT, a car with blunt aerodynamics that was slower in a straight line than the Cooper S. But production of more humble round-nose Minis continued, and the timeless shape outlived the face-lifted version. Somehow, it survived through the 1974 nationalisation of a company that now had \u2018Leyland\u2019 in its title, then years of industrial unrest, and finally denationalisation of the Rover Group in 1988.<\/p>\n

\u201cSomehow, it survived Leyland and industrial unrest to be reborn\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Mini Cooper was reborn in the 1990s, first with a short run of cars dubbed the Mini Cooper RSP after the Rover Special Products skunkworks that got it back into production. Its success resulted in the Cooper S being put back into full production, now with fuel injection, in 1991.<\/p>\n

The reinvigorated Mini brand found favour with BMW on its acquisition of Rover in 1994. The Cooper remained in production until 2000 and paved the way for an all-new Mini and, of course, hot Cooper versions.<\/p>\n

Mini Cooper<\/b><\/p>\n

\u2022 Price new<\/strong> \u00a3679 7s 3d
\n\u2022 Price now<\/strong> \u00a310-30,000
\n\u2022 Engine<\/strong> 997cc, 8-valve in-line four
\n<\/span>\u2022 Power<\/strong> 54bhp
\n\u2022 0-60mph<\/strong> 17.1sec l Top speed 88mph
\n\u2022 Rivals<\/strong> Renault 8 Gordini, Volvo 120
\n\u2022 Verdict<\/strong> A timeless icon that hit its mark on the race track and rally stage<\/p>\n

\n
Market view<\/h5>\n

Knowing your models is key to a wise purchase<\/strong><\/p>\n

From popping down the shops to racing in the Monte Carlo Rally and even appearing on the big screen, the classic Mini is one of the most versatile, well-known and collectable cars ever made. <\/span><\/p>\n

With 5.3 million sold between 1959 to 2000, there\u2019s one model that remains on the market radar \u2013 the MkI Mini Cooper.<\/p>\n

Launched in September 1961, two distinct variations exist \u2013 the 1000 early homologation specials, rarely seen on the open market \u2013 and later examples, which were made until 1967. <\/span><\/p>\n

We\u2019ve seen a few later MkIs in the classifieds and prices vary depending on where they were first delivered, whether they\u2019ve been restored and what condition they\u2019re in. For example, a fully restored UK, 1967 model with matching numbers is currently offered privately at \u00a325,000.<\/p>\n

Looking at the major auction houses, Silverstone Auctions sold a heavily rebuilt 1963 UK-registered example for \u00a325,650 at its 2018 NEC Classic Motor Show Sale. In Paris, at this year\u2019s Bonham\u2019s sale, the team sold a 1963 French-registered example that was fully restored for \u00a316,113. <\/span><\/p>\n

Whether you have an early or a late car, you still own a piece of motoring history, and you can\u2019t put a price on that. Or can you?<\/p>\n

David Bond, Managing Director, Footman James<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"author":739,"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[],"tags":[],"issue_decade":[121600],"issue_year":[121825],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issue_content\/610735"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issue_content"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/issue_content"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/739"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=610735"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issue_content\/610735\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":629288,"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issue_content\/610735\/revisions\/629288"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=610735"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=610735"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=610735"},{"taxonomy":"issue_decade","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issue_decade?post=610735"},{"taxonomy":"issue_year","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issue_year?post=610735"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}