The Mini was designed by Sir Alec Issigonis in 1959 and is still as popular today, forty years later because of its cute looks, bubbly and curvy shape. It is cheap to run and keep maintained, easy to fix and modify and not to mention its nippy handling and easy parking because of its size.

The Mission

Sir Alec Issigonis was looking to design a small, compact and economical car and he succeeded. It was the first car to have front wheel drive, transverse engine mounted in the front of the vehicle and was the only car in the whole world at that time to have suspension from a rubber spring system instead of the typical steel springs.

How it all began

Sir Alec Issigonis joined the team at Morris Motors in 1936 at the age of 30. It was here that he became one of the greated motor engineers because he was the one responsible for the design of the Morris Minor.

It wasnt until his final year at Morris Motors that he designed and built a transverse engine front wheel drive prototype of the Morris Minor. He left Morris Motors to join the Alvis company only to return to them, it was here that he formed the British Car Corporation (BMC) in 1955.

In 1957 he began designing a small car for post-war Britain, they needed to be quite small, compact and economical, he also had some competition with the Messerschmitt also known as Bubble cars.

It was in 1959 that the Mini was born, it was to be the first car with front wheel drive and its engine mounted in the front. It also was the first car ever to have rubber spring suspension, he had worked on this rubber spring idea with Alex Moulton while he worked at Alvis.

Finally the car everyone had been waiting for had arrived.

Cooper and Son

It has been fifty years since father Charles Cooper and his son John worked together and founded the famous Cooper racing name that was to become synonymous with the now famous Mini Cooper.

Working together in a small BMC garage in Surbiton, they worked long and hard and together designed and built the first racing car with a rear-mounted engine, the famous Formula III Cooper 500. This then went on to win many Championships with legendary drivers like Stirling Moss behind the wheel.

The Cooper Car Company expanded throughout the late 1940s and early 1950s and continued to produce race winning cars. With Jack Brabham now driving, Cooper Cars kept winning the World Championship, twice infact in 1959 and 1960.

It was not long before the racing potential was noticed of the recently launched Mini. With the blessed design of Sir Alec Issigonis, the car was soon modified and re-engineered for saloon car racing and rallying.

The Mini Cooper became more successful than anyone could have imagined possible with it becoming the first ever British car to win the European Rally Championships aswell as taking the chequered flag at the Monte Carlo Rally three times.

The Cooper name was then firmly linked to the Mini.
It became an icon of the sixties with royalty, film stars, pop and rock stars all wanting to get their hands on this famous car.

2001 will be another exciting year for John Cooper Garages with the release of the new improved MINI Cooper!

What Made The Mini So Famous?

The Mini has become famous for many reasons over the years, it has won the Monte Carlo Rally and stared along side Micheal Caine in the hit film 'The Italian Job' and is still as popular as ever now, 40 years later with the last ever Mini coming off the production line earlier this year and sold off at auction.

Paddy Hopkirk, '33 EJB'

Paddy Hopkirk along with his little red Mini won the 1964 Monte Carlo Rally. There are a few vehicle registration plates in the history of British motor sport that evoke such emotion as Paddy's '33 EJB'.

Paddy Hopkirk is the name you associate with the Mini and the Monte Carlo Rally. The Mini he drives is always red and white, festooned with a bank of spot and foglamps on the grill. You can almost imagine his little red Mini screaming down muddy tracks, scrabbling for grip, through the tree-strewn stages of the rally.

The Italian Job

The Italian Job a cult-classic comedy film made in 1969, about a botched robbery, starring Michael Caine and Benny Hill. The film is centered on Micheal Caine's character Charlie Crocker, a bank robber who does time and is finally let out of jail and is on the make again. This time Crocker is planning to attempt to steal four million dollars in gold from under the nose of the Mafia. The movie captures the style and humor of the late sixties, and contains the legendary Mini Cooper chase sequence, an extremely long and exciting car chase involving Mini Coopers that stretches through streets, buildings, rivers, sewers, highways, and rooftops.