The man behind the Mini was Sir Alec Issigonis. Its space-saving transverse engine and front-wheel drive layout – allowing 80% of the area of the car's floorpan to be used for passengers and luggage – influenced a generation of car makers. In 1999, the Mini was voted the second-most influential car of the 20th century.

Issigonis' friend John Cooper, owner of the Cooper Car Company and designer and builder of Formula One cars, saw the potential of the Mini for competition. Issigonis was initially reluctant to see the Mini in the role of a performance car, but after John Cooper appealed to BMC management, the two men collaborated to create the Mini Cooper. The Austin Mini Cooper and Morris Mini Cooper debuted in September 1961. The 848 cc (51.7 cu in) engine from the Morris Mini-Minor was given a longer stroke to increase capacity to 997 cc (60.8 cu in) increasing power from 34 to 55 bhp (25 to 41 kW). The car featured a race-tuned engine, twin SU carburettors, a closer-ratio gearbox and front disc brakes, uncommon at the time in a small car. One thousand units of this version were commissioned by management, intended for and designed to meet the homologation rules of Group 2 rally racing. The 997 cc engine was replaced by a shorter stroke 998 cc unit in 1964. In 1962, Rhodesian John Love became the first non-British racing driver to win the British Saloon Car Championship driving a Mini Cooper.

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An agreement between BMC and Innocenti was announced in 1959 to assemble manufacture BMC cars for the Italian market. The first Mini Coopers assembled in Milan from imported knock-down kits with sales of the Innocenti Mini Cooper 1300 began in March 1966. It was licensed in 1973 to Spain's Authi (Automoviles de Turismo Hispano-Ingleses), which began to produce the Authi Mini Cooper 1300. The Cooper name was discontinued from the UK Mini range at this time.

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Vår Mini Cooper 998 1,0 från 1966 är nyligen genomgången och restaurerad till ett fantastiskt skick, både till utseende och i motor. Samtliga stolar och tak är klädda i originalklädsel. Kontakta oss för mer information.