Mini Cooper: Spotted

Race ready but road legal with 148hp. Looks rather fun...

It probably won't have escaped your attention recently that classic Minis have become rather expensive. A quick scour through PH throws up this left-hand drive British Open at £8,000 and this odd cabriolet at £14,995. When even a Mayfair automatic is nearly £5K you know they've all got it bad.

Face it, you really want a go

In light of those, £9,995 for this Cooper appears entirely reasonable. To the uninitiated it may look like a Cooper with a few stickers on but this is in fact a very serious little racing car.

'No expense spared' is used to describe this car's transformation and there seems little reason to doubt that. Sold as a plain old Cooper in 1991, it was purchased by 'The English Brothers' in 2002. They may sound like a pair of crooks from a gangster film but are in fact very successful sprint and hillclimb racers. Work began soon after to turn this car into an ultimate hillclimb machine, until it was purchased in 2011 by Mini racer Patrick Mortimer as a present for his wife.

The spec is just incredible. A Stage 3 1,380cc engine making 148hp with Omega pistons, a Kent cam, Weber carb and MED race cylinder head. There are Straight-cut gears, a paddle clutch and Salisbury LSD. As well as genuine Minilites on Yokohama Advans, Gaz adjustable dampers and a Cooper S brakes. That's before you get to the interior. A lot of time and money has clearly been invested into making this Mini a superbly capable and very successful racer.

Hold on tight!

Moreover, driving any old Mini is going to be fun. This version will surely only intensify the feeling, louder and faster and sharper while you bob along the road. And it really can be used off the track as it remains fully road legal. There's an MOT until May. Can you imagine a B-road thrash in this? A daily commute? The weekly shop? The appeal may wear off but it must be hilarious for a while. In theory it could be driven to a track day, embarrass quite a few cars and then be taken on the road home again. Would take some commitment mind...

Of course the benefit to using something so light as the basis for a competition car is the low cost of consumables. Apparently the engine has an invoice for many thousands and making over 100hp per litre it will probably require some specialist care. But tyres and brakes would surely last ages, and the suspension components aren't stressed by excess weight. You wouldn't even need a big trailer.

Finally there's the cool factor associated with being an old Mini. Who doesn't love 'em? Especially really fast ones? It won't be for those who just want to pootle around but for anyone who loves driving they would surely be hard pressed to buy more grins for £10K.

MINI COOPER
Engine: 1,380cc four-cyl
Transmission: 4-speed manual, front-wheel drive, limited-slip differential
Power (hp): 148@N/Arpm
Torque (lb ft): N/A
MPG: N/A
CO2: N/A
First registered: 1991
Recorded mileage: 53,885
Price new: £6,995
Yours for: £9,995