Mini 1965 Victory Edition marks rally success

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

By Matt Bird / Wednesday, 25 February 2026 / Loading comments

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.