Minneapolis Street Sighting: Austin Cooper S

I seem to have discovered a sweet spot for noteworthy, classic vehicles, usually of the British variety not far from my house. Infact, it's a 10 minute or so bike ride. More on that later.
What you have infront of you is an original Mini Cooper S. Unlike the modern BMW interpretations, this little guy lives up to its "Mini" nameplate. Despite the new one being labeled as a compact car, the original Austin Cooper was quite the compact car. Weighing in at between 1360 and 1512 lbs, the Cooper and Cooper S were 1/3 the weight of their new "counterpart", but were often better handlers, though not quite as fast in a straight line; that can be fixed with a VTEC Honda engine swap, but I prefer not. I like the 1275CC SU carburated engine that came with them, and see no need to drop a modern motor in one.

Much like the "spirit" of the new Mini, the original had quite a history in motorsports. Drivers raced them in various events including circuit racing, and most notably, rally racing. It was during rallies that John Cooper became synonomous with Mini and motorsport, and helped bring the little tiger on the map for good. Ever since 1962, when the Mini first won a rally race, car enthusiasts, and racing enthusiasts aliked have both adored, and admired the little car. The original shape was carried on throught model year 2000, when BMW's version replaced it. Even though there are still JCW (John Cooper Works) Minis still being made, they lack the agility, handling, and fun-to-drive factor of the original. Oh, and this will make greenies happy: the original Mini can get 45 MPG at 55-60 MPH. Try that with a new BMW incarnate. You can't, unless you get a gutless MiniD which is available everywhere but here.