The year is 1961, and a man called John Cooper had been working with a BMC Mini. Having driven one and discovered the amazing handling and road holding of the car, he saw potential for a lot of fun and chequered flags at the end of rallies.
The first Cooper, an ‘848’ stroked to 997cc was the first. There was also a 1071cc version, and it is this one that was the first Cooper S. Two other S variants appeared, homologated for circuit racing, a 970cc and the famous 1275cc.
Unless you were a ‘club’ racer, the only S of interest was the 1275.
The photo shows an authentic ‘63 Cooper S. This car started a huge industry in customizing and tuning which still exists today. Regardless of what Mini you owned, a standard Mini, Clubman or Moke (if you were brave enough drive fast on what was essentially a floorpan with a windshield), there was a tuning company somewhere in the UK which had a mass of parts waiting for you to buy and collect.
OK. These cars were noisy, bumpy, uncomfortable, cramped, they let in water around the doors, the battery would rot its way through the boot floor, and they wouldn’t do 100mph on 10” Minilites.
Like any owner cared. These cars were as fast through bends as they were on the straights, the exhaust note was worthy of an engine with five times the displacement, and the induction roar from the wire pancake filters was better than anything on any car radio.
Torque from the 1275 was such that you hardly had to use gears below 3rd, and only really needed second for starting off on steep hills.
There are cars running around now with S badges pinned on them, but they are nothing like the originals. BMW may e build them well and I don’t doubt that they are way more comfortable and refined, but who ever bought a Cooper S for comfort and refinement.
The Cooper S was the most fun you could have in a cheapish car available straight from any BMC dealer showroom.
At age 60 and falling apart at the seams, I doubt that I could still get into and out of a Mini, but I would like the chance to once again take a ‘hot’ Mini over Hardknott Pass in Cumbria. Talk about excitement.. WOW..
Incidentally, it was the 1071 Cooper S which made the car famous on the Monte Carlo Rally, not the 1275.
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