1963 Morris Mini Cooper 997cc

To many, its designer Alec Issigonis included, the notion that the Mini might have a future as anything other than basic transport was anathema, and 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 cars competition potential. The result, launched in September 1961, was the Mini Cooper. Enlarged to 997cc and suitably tweaked, the revised A-Series engine easily met its 55bhp target. The extra power endowed the Mini Cooper with an 85mph-plus top speed and to cope with this increased performance Lockheed developed special 7Â-diameter disc brakes for the front wheels. The new car soon established its credentials as a rally and race winner, and the stage was set for even faster versions. On the racetrack the Cooper's prodigious road-holding and excellent power-to-weight ratio enabled it to compete successfully with larger-capacity rivals and on tight twisting circuits the car was often a candidate for outright victory. Indeed, Warwick Banks won the European Saloon Car Championship outright in 1964 driving Ken Tyrell's Mini Cooper.

This 997cc Mini Cooper was restored to show standard in the 1990s. Some measure of the cars quality may be gained from the fact that it was chosen to appear in motoring historian Anders Ditlev Clausager's book, Essential Mini Cooper, and a delightful image in the history file of this car climbing the steps to The Mailbox in Birmingham, presumably to coincide with the opening in 1998. An icon of the 1960's this cherished example of the marque was acquired by our vendor in 2006 and has resided in his sitting room ever since planting itself as a firm member of the family. Finished in Surf Blue with complementing Blue/White interior, the car is in all round excellent condition being as it is lightly recommissioned and freshly MoT'd following its period of ornamental-use indoors. A UK registered and correct car this charming Mini deserves to be put to the road again under new stewardship...