When 130 international automotive journalists assembled in 1999 to elect the “Car of the Century” (20th), Austin’s Mini was ranked a solid second only surpassed by Ford’s “Model T”. What started as cheap, efficient transportation for Great Britain’s masses at a time of unheard of oil shortages, became the favorite of many for its economy, performance, handling, and pugnacious cuteness. At the same time, its layout foretold of the way that most small and medium cars, worldwide, would be built several decades hence.

In 1956 Leonard Lord, head of the British Motor Corporation (BMC) challenged Alec Issigonis to come up with a smaller version of the already-popular Morris Minor. What Issigonis designed was a tiny car with a transverse engine & transmission mounted between and slightly forward of the front wheel centerline. He moved the wheels to the car’s four corners and used a trailing link suspension to support the rear end. The car was moderately successful and gained quite a cult following. Enter John Cooper. After having a good deal of success Grand Prix racing with Jack Brabham, Cooper wanted to develop a high-performance road car. He converted a Mini by putting one of his de-tuned racing motors into it and sealed the deal with a handshake to have BMC build an initial run of 1000. For a short window of time, the Mini Cooper’s racing success in the mid-‘60’s on circuits like the Monte Carlo Rallye established the Mini Cooper as a racing legend. By the time production had stopped in October 2000, over 5.3 million Minis and Mini Coopers had been manufactured.

In 1995, BMW acquired the Rover Group. Part of this deal was the transfer of the Mini brand to BMW. Although they didn’t have immediate plans for the Mini, it was considered by most as “long in the tooth”. In the late ‘90’s, BMW decided to re-engineer it to bring it up to contemporary standards for performance and safety while keeping its puggish cuteness. A number of BMW design teams worked on proposals, but American Frank Stephenson’s team was the ultimate winner, with a design that was 20” longer, 11” wider, and 2 ½ " taller. Horsepower was up to 115 (163 on the S). But the car retained enough of the original Mini’s design elements that the connection between old and new was unmistakable! The new Mini Cooper retained all of the agility and fun of the original car while the engineering was contemporary and German.

AUTOart’s version of the standard Mini Cooper is nicely done. My yellow & black version has lustrous paint that matches the OE perfectly. All of the stock chrome trim pieces are exact matches for the original…. even to the chrome trim strips around the base of the “greenhouse”. The interior shows a lot of attention with “carpeted” floor mats, fabric and vinyl seats that actually have different surface treatment for each material, and gauges that are extremely realistic. The seat belt material is fabric even though you can hardly find them and the female receptacle has the little red release button just like on the real car. Turn the car over and the underside is as nicely detailed as the interior. The tires are generic but the tread pattern looks just like the pattern on my Mini’s Dunlops. The exhaust’s two aluminum heat shields are painted plastic, but look just like the fragile corrugated units on the car. Without having any wires or hoses in the engine compartment, the model’s presentation of the engine is still quite realistic and has the oil, Mini, coolant, and radiator stickers found on the real car.

All in all, I really like the job that AUTOart has done in replicating the Mini Cooper. If your life won’t let you indulge in the real thing, AUTOart’s Mini Cooper will get you part the way there and it’s hard to look at its bulldog-like nose without getting a smile on your face. Nice job, AUTOart!