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Wikipedia: Mini
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History
The following section is an excerpt from Wikipedia's Automotive Industries page on 2 July 2018, text available via the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
Issigonis' friend John Cooper, owner of the Cooper Car Company and designer and builder of Formula One and rally 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.
A more powerful Mini Cooper, dubbed the "S", was developed in tandem and released in 1963. Featuring a 1071 cc engine with a 70.61 mm bore and nitrided steel crankshaft and strengthened bottom end to allow further tuning; and larger servo-assisted disc brakes, 4,030 Cooper S cars were produced and sold until the model was updated in August 1964. Cooper also produced two S models specifically for circuit racing in the under 1,000 cc and under 1,300 cc classes respectively, rated at 970 cc (59 cu in) and a 1,275 cc (77.8 cu in), both had a 70.61 mm (2.780 in) bore and both were also offered to the public. The smaller-engine model was not well received, and only 963 had been built when the model was discontinued in 1965. The 1,275 cc Cooper S models continued in production until 1971.
Sales of the Mini Cooper were as follows: 64,000 Mark I Coopers with 997 cc or 998 cc engines; 19,000 Mark I Cooper S with 970 cc, 1,071 cc or 1,275 cc engines; 16,000 Mark II Coopers with 998 cc engines; 6,300 Mark II Cooper S with 1,275 cc engines. There were no Mark III Coopers and just 1,570 Mark III Cooper S.
In 1971, the Mini Cooper design was licensed in Italy by Innocenti and in 1973 to Spain by Authi (Automoviles de Turismo Hispano-Ingleses), which began to produce the Innocenti Mini Cooper 1300 and the Authi Mini Cooper 1300, respectively. The Cooper name was discontinued from the UK Mini range at this time.
A new Mini Cooper named the RSP (Rover Special Products) was briefly relaunched in 1990–91, with slightly lower performance than the 1960s Cooper. It proved popular and a new Cooper-marked Mini went into full production in late 1991. To meet emission standards, Coopers from 1992 on were fitted with a fuel-injected version of the 1,275 cc engine, and in 1997 a multi-point fuel injected engine was introduced, along with a front-mounted radiator and various safety improvements. "I love my Mini Cooper," remarked Madonna in 2003. "I was too scared to drive a big car in London."
| 2007 Mini Cooper S Producer: Martin Lukanz, Luxmedia, MotorNewsTV  This work is licensed under a Namensnennung-Weitergabe unter gleichen Bedingungen 2.0 Österreich (Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Austria) (CC BY-SA 2.0) License. English: Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0. Download Mini Cooper S in Ogg Video format - 3,284KB - 1:03 Download Mini Cooper S in Windows Media format - 3,500KB - 1:03 Download Mini Cooper S in 512KB MP4 format - 4,348KB - 1:03 | |
| 12 February 2007 2007 Mini Cooper R56 Review Woofcast #133  It’s the Gabe Bridger show. First, he wants to make sure all y’all know who we are, then he talked about his time in the R56. Don’t worry, db does wear pants while podcasting. Really. No, really, I do! I swear. Don’t forget to check out all of the R56 coverage over at Motoringfile, including another audio review that will be going up on Tuesday. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. Download Woofcast #133 in MP3 format from WhiteRoofRadio.com Go to the Woofcast #133 page at WhiteRoofRadio.com - 49:48 | |
| 20 April 2007 Robert Reviews the R56 Cooper Robert’s JCW MINI is in for some warranty repair, so he gets an R56 Cooper as a loaner! He has a great time driving it and managed to put quite a bit of kilometers on it. Awesome review. Definitely worth checking out, especially if you are looking at an R56 Cooper! This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. Download White Roof Radio Robert Reviews the R56 Cooper in MP3 format from WhiteRoofRadio.com Go to the White Roof Radio Robert Reviews the R56 Cooper page at WhiteRoofRadio.com - 9:47 | |
| 21 April 2007 R56 Cooper S Review Robert motors with his friend Dwayne in his brand new R56 MCS. Another great perspective of what is obviously a great car! This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. Download White Roof Radio R56 Cooper S Review in MP3 format from WhiteRoofRadio.com Go to the White Roof Radio R56 Cooper S Review page at WhiteRoofRadio.com - 15:00 | |
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11 April 2011 Woofcast #375 Once upon a time there was a blog post. A blog post extolling the virtues of the Fiat 500 over the MINI Cooper. Then 1 day, 3 fine lads heard about this blog post. And they came to defend their champion. As did 75 of you. That’s right, your 3 favorite MINI Cooper fan boys doing what we do best for 42 minutes and 54 seconds. And then some. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. Download Woofcast #375 in MP3 format from WhiteRoofRadio.com Go to the Woofcast #375 page at WhiteRoofRadio.com - 42:54 |
| Date | Document Name & Details | Documents |
|---|---|---|
| 28 November 1966 | NHTSA Recall 66V028000 Austin Healey 1100, Austin Healey Mini, Isuzu Pickup Truck, MG 1100, Morris 1100, Morris Cooper, Morris Cooper S, Morris Cooper Saloon, Morris Mini Van, Morris Moke, Riley Elf, Vanden Plas 1100, Wolseley Hornet SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:POWER ASSIST National Highway Traffic Safety Administration | Recall Page - 1 page |
| March 2003 | Potential Safety Defects Investigation / Vehicle to Vehicle 2002 Mini Cooper National Highway Traffic Safety Administration |  PDF - 1,887KB - 21 pages |
| 21 July 2003 | Safety Compliance Testing for FMVSS No. 216: Roof Crush Resistance 2003 Mini Cooper, Passenger Car National Highway Traffic Safety Administration | PDF - 3.6MB - 49 pages |
| August 2003 | Inflatable Side Air Curtain Investigation / Vehicle to Object 2003 Mini Cooper S three-door hatchback National Highway Traffic Safety Administration | PDF - 2,780KB - 22 pages |
| 25 September 2003 | Safety Compliance Testing for FMVSS No. 110(Indicant): Tire Selection and Rims 2003 BMW Mini Cooper Passenger Car National Highway Traffic Safety Administration | PDF - 1.9MB - 25 pages |
| 4 November 2003 | Safety Compliance Testing for FMVSS 225: Child Restraint Anchorage Systems (Lower and Tether Anchorages) 2003 Mini Cooper, Passenger Car National Highway Traffic Safety Administration | PDF - 7.5MB - 76 pages |
| 24 May 2004 | Safety Compliance Testing for FMVSS 118: Power-Operated Window, Partition, And Roof Panel Systems 2004 Mini Cooper 2 Door Coupe National Highway Traffic Safety Administration | PDF - 326KB - 32 pages |
| 29 June 2004 | Safety Compliance Testing for FMVSS 111: Rearview Mirrors (Other Than School Buses) 2004 Mini Cooper 2 Door Coupe National Highway Traffic Safety Administration | PDF - 1.6MB - 66 pages |
| 31 August 2004 | Safety Compliance Testing for FMVSS 207: Seating Systems 2004 BMW Mini Cooper 2-Door Coupe National Highway Traffic Safety Administration | PDF - 22.6MB - 106 pages |
| May 2006 | On-Site Side Impact Inflatable Occupant Protection Investigation Vehicle - 2006 Mini Cooper National Highway Traffic Safety Administration | PDF - 1,685KB - 17 pages |
| 30 April 2008 | Vehicle Safety Compliance Testing for FMVSS 208, Occupant Crash Protection; FMVSS 212, Windshield Mounting; FMVSS 219, Windshield Intrustion (Partial); FMVSS 301, Fuel System Integrity 2007 BMW Mini Cooper Passenger Car National Highway Traffic Safety Administration | PDF - 18.8MB - 358 pages |
| September 2010 | FMVSS 135 Safety Compliance Testing: Light Vehicle Brake Systems 2010 Mini Cooper, 2-Door Coupe National Highway Traffic Safety Administration | PDF - 20.8MB - 75 pages |
| 9 February 2011 | Safety Compliance Testing for FMVSS Electronic Stability Control Systems 2010 Mini Cooper National Highway Traffic Safety Administration | PDF - 15.1MB - 82 pages |
| Type & Item # | Name | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Die Cast - Hot Wheels 24386-1911 | Mini Cooper | 2000 First Editions, small scale, yellow w/checker roof |
| Die Cast - Welly 9851W | Mini Cooper | 1:18 scale, yellow w/white roof |
