John Cooper, the racing car constructor, saw tremendous potential in creating a performance derivative of the Mini and back at his workshop John and his team set about giving the engine more power.
In July 1961 the Mini Cooper was born to a rapturous reception, with wider tyres, two-tone trim, a 100-mph speedometer and for the first time the famous white roof ΓÇö the surge of demand lead to it going into full production.
Mini Cooper S was introduced in 1963 with many enhancements aimed at making the car more competitive, including ΓÇö 1071cc engine and larger, servo-assisted disc brakes.
A new range of Mini Coopers were introduced in 1964, arriving as the 970 and 1275 Cooper S. Initially designed for the military, the Mini Moke was launched as a leisure vehicle.
Mini 1000 was introduced in both saloon and estate in 1967, and in1969 the Mini Clubman was launched.
