Works Mini Coopers won the Monte Carlo Rally in '64, '65, '66 and '67, (though were controversially disqualified from the '66 one) and the model remains one of the most successful rally and race cars of all times. The first of the line to bear the name of F1 constructor John Cooper was the Mini Cooper of 1961. The stroke of the standard 848cc engine was lengthened to 997cc which, together with other improvements, raised the power output from 34 to 55bhp. A closer ratio gearbox and front wheel disc brakes completed the package. The engine was replaced by a shorter stroke 998cc unit in 1964. Then, with an eye on the appropriate racing classes, BMC eventually produced a total of three versions of the more powerful Cooper S with 1071, 970, and 1275cc engines respectively.

This 1071 Cooper S has a fascinating history. It began life as a Morris finished in Surf Blue and Old English White and was immediately adopted by Austin's Experimental Department, where it became one of three Coopers to be refashioned as a prototype hatchback; complete with folding rear seat and different front lights. The two equipped with fibreglass tailgates apparently no longer exist but this car, that was treated to a steel one, re-emerged as an Austin finished in Almond Green and Old English White, and was duly sold to the MP and former Transport Minister Ernest Marples. After he'd reputedly part-exchanged it for a Renault 5 in 1974, it is understood to have had a couple of keepers in the West Country before falling into disrepair. It was rediscovered in Yatton, Somerset in 1979 by enthusiast Alan Meaker who, following a six year battle to purchase the Mini, treated it to a painstaking nine-year restoration. This historic and truly unique Cooper S is now offered with FIVA Identity Card.

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