Yesterday

Mini 1965 Victory Edition marks rally success

New special edition gets livery-inspired paint job, even more stripes, no more power

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Sometimes it can be hard to forget the motorsport success of Minis, from touring cars to rally stages and hillclimbs to endurance racing. But never ones to miss an anniversary opportunity, Mini is now paying homage to one of the most significant super Cooper wins of all time with the 1965 Victory Edition. Why it didn’t arrive to mark 60 years since Timo Makinen and Paul Easter’s Monte Carlo win is anybody’s guess, but better late than never and all that. 

Available for the 204hp Cooper S, 231hp JCW and 258hp JCW Electric, the 1965 Victory Edition is very much more a cosmetic exercise than a road-going rally car. Still, with petrol-powered hot hatches so hard to come by in 2026, some kind of special edition feels preferable to not having one at all. Chili Red is the launch colour, with the white stripes, and it’d be a surprise if any other colour is offered given this pays tribute to another red Cooper S; the ‘52’ graphic is the number that was on Makinen and Easter’s Mini 61 years ago. The eagle-eyed will also spot a ‘1965’ sticker on the C-pillar, which can also be found on the sill, the fabric spoke of the steering wheel and centre console storage. 

There’s even a rally celebration in the door, with details of the Monte Carlo Mini and its drivers. Certainly nobody’s going to miss the special edition status, with the racing number found on the key as well and the exterior colour scheme repeated for the interior details. While we do like to whinge about modern Minis sometimes, this one does look quite smart. For the rally purists (if they’re looking at a new Mini), the pano roof seen here can be swapped for something called ‘Glaced’, said to provide ‘an athletic and elegant contrast to the Chili Red body.’

Mini has stated that all versions of the 1965 Victory Edition will be offered in Europe from July. Obviously we don’t technically qualify as Europe anymore, so it remains to be seen whether it’ll be offered here. But the only thing we love more in Britain than a Mini is a special edition, so we’d be cautiously optimistic. And if not (or if the latest Mini doesn’t really do it for you), there are special editions aplenty in the classifieds, from a World Championship 50 to a very special Challenge, a London 2012 Cooper to a 25th Anniversary drop-top. And given this year marks a quarter of a century since the introduction of the original ‘new Mini’, don’t be surprised if there are more Mini makeovers in the coming months.

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[ex-devonpaul]

What has this got to do with the BMC win except BMW bought 4 letters?

[cerb4.5lee]

I struggle to get used to the single exit exhaust on these, and I personally prefer the twin exit exhaust from years gone by in comparison.

[mac96]

cerb4.5lee said:

I struggle to get used to the single exit exhaust on these, and I personally prefer the twin exit exhaust from years gone by in comparison.

Single exit in the centre was the thing for hotted up BMC Minis back in the day, so I suppose this harks back to that.

Seems a bit pointless to me though as this is a completely different car.

[cerb4.5lee]

mac96 said:

Single exit in the centre was the thing for hotted up BMC Minis back in the day, so I suppose this harks back to that.

Seems a bit pointless to me though as this is a completely different car.

[Donovfarm]

I recognise that I am probably in a minority of one here but I really like these slightly cheesy special editions. They remind me that Mini has a character and heritage that new market entrants don’t have. Yes I know the new Minis have nothing to do with those of yore, but all the same it’s nice to know, and be reminded of, where they come from.

[Oiyou]

mac96 said:

cerb4.5lee said:

I struggle to get used to the single exit exhaust on these, and I personally prefer the twin exit exhaust from years gone by in comparison.

Single exit in the centre was the thing for hotted up BMC Minis back in the day, so I suppose this harks back to that.

Seems a bit pointless to me though as this is a completely different car.

It's nice to see the number of tail pipes matches the number of actual exhaust pipes for once. I think it looks pretty cool.

Love how these look. Can't get enthusiastic about much else though.

[T697JVS]

Donovfarm said:

I recognise that I am probably in a minority of one here but I really like these slightly cheesy special editions. They remind me that Mini has a character and heritage that new market entrants don t have. Yes I know the new Minis have nothing to do with those of yore, but all the same it s nice to know, and be reminded of, where they come from.

They don’t have any heritage. As mentioned above this has nothing to do with property minis and is just an oversized pastiche

[The Driving God]

Someone might want to show Matt a map, he seems to think the UK floated away from the continent.

[T1berious]

Marketing + Nostalgia = Crack for some buyers.

Sadly, I imagine anyone interested in the mini story circa 1965 has very little interest in buying one to remind them of their misprint youth when they modded mini's.

Most manufacturers, want to celebrate something, be it the birth of an iconic model (Porsche most weeks), or a new trim (Lotus) or one that's become a staple year in, year out to mark when they raced the things (BMW).

However, this seems a really weak effort.

[Bencolem]

Seems atypical to celebrate a 61st anniversary?

[fantheman80]

mac96 said:

cerb4.5lee said:

I struggle to get used to the single exit exhaust on these, and I personally prefer the twin exit exhaust from years gone by in comparison.

Single exit in the centre was the thing for hotted up BMC Minis back in the day, so I suppose this harks back to that.

Seems a bit pointless to me though as this is a completely different car.

There are two pipes, but one is facing the ground out of sight, hidden like a dirty diesel....

[Monkeywench]

Really liking the single large, purposeful and seemingly genuine looking exhaust. Far better than these quad (but often fake) tail pipe layouts on some performance cars. Less really can be more IMO.

[jesamel1]

The Driving God said:

Someone might want to show Matt a map, he seems to think the UK floated away from the continent.

Agree! We left the European Union not the continent itself...nice MINI although barely any resemblence to the original it's celebrating. Still don't like the back on these - the F56 was better.

[86wasagoodyear]

jesamel1 said:

The Driving God said:

Someone might want to show Matt a map, he seems to think the UK floated away from the continent.

Agree! We left the European Union not the continent itself...nice MINI although barely any resemblence to the original it's celebrating. Still don't like the back on these - the F56 was better.

...and the R56 was better than that, and before that the R53 nailed the looks. Downhill in looks and less mini in size ever since.

[WPA]

ex-devonpaul said:

What has this got to do with the BMC win except BMW bought 4 letters?

Exactly, it is just naff

[S600BSB]

Still prefer the look of the previous generation.

[Mr-B]

86wasagoodyear said:

...and the R56 was better than that, and before that the R53 nailed the looks. Downhill in looks and less mini in size ever since.

+1

[howardhughes]

ex-devonpaul said:

What has this got to do with the BMC win except BMW bought 4 letters?

Agreed, it's all bullst MINI marketing. And that's coming from MINI owner!

[gruppeb86]

Ugly car and equally distasteful decal/stickers. Anything to sell a few extra numbers and give the impression you have got something special.

[Oberheim]

Prefer the looks of the previous generations (especially the R53), but I'm a sucker for a red car and I don't mind the graphics, so I quite like it. If I'd been born in 1965, the appeal would be yet stronger (alas, 1970 is my birth year).