1998 Rover Mini Cooper S Touring (533 miles)

For sale by auction on Saturday 29 August 2015 with Historics at Brooklands. Brooklands Motor Racing Circuit. Weybridge. Surrey. Call 01753 639170
John Cooper was well known for his involvement. with his father
Charles. in developing the post-war rear engine single seater 500cc
race cars that ran amok and beat the larger front engine cars of
the period. John is also later renowned for his development of the
iconic Mini with the Mini Coopers cleaning up in high profile race
and rally events in the 1960s and beyond.

We are delighted to offer this very low mileage. 'Special Order'
Rover Mini Cooper S Touring that was built under the supervision of
Tony Franks. John Cooper's Chief Mechanic and Workshop Foreman at
the John Cooper's Workshop (JWC) at East Preston. West Sussex and
sold through John Cooper's Garages Ltd. . at 50 Ferring Street. br/>Ferring. West Sussex. Tony recently recollects. quot;It all started in
1990 when Rover sent us a Mini City to convert. It was built with a
1275cc engine with twin carburettors. The resulting Mini Cooper was
a success so production of the Coopers commenced. only ceasing in
2000. We also built a Metro Cooper but had to call it a Metro
Monaco after the Cooper Monaco!"Tony further recalls. quot;Although no
records exist from the period. I remember that this particular
model. car number 98-S-132. had a JCW upgraded engine with high
lift rockers. larger inlet valves and a high compression cylinder
head mated to a three branch exhaust manifold. Silencing was via a
Janspeed silencer with twin pipes exiting the rear. A multi point
fuel injection was incorporated rather than twin carburettors of
the first cars. We built this one with Koni suspension. This was
also a special order buildwith a higher ratio final drive of 4. 2:1. br/>enabling less engine revs at speed resulting in comfortable high
speed touring. hence the Touring name we gave it.

Car number 98-S-132 has only covered a total of 533 miles
resulting in. possibly. one of the best examples of the period
available today. It was first owned by a gentleman who spent a lot
of time in Japan leading to the Mini spending much of its early
life in storage until being purchased by the current owner in May
2005. During the current ownership. the Mini has had little use
hence the low miles. On inspection. this Cooper S looks very much
as if it has just left production at Ferring. The bespoke walnut
dashboard and door cappings are as new. as is the cream leather
interior. Delightful details such as the John Cooper signed
lightened alloy window winders and door handles further adorn the
interior. On the outside. the Cooper S looks resplendent in
metallic blue with a white roof. white detailed door mirrors and
white Cooper bonnet stripes. Complementing the coachwork are
details that include alloy wheels. alloy locking quick release fuel
filler and auxiliary quad driving lights at the front. A UK
registration V5 document and current MoT test certificate. valid
until April 2016. accompany the car. Importantly. since being
in the current ownership. this Mini Cooper S has been personally
maintained by Tony Franks at his Sussex workshop.

John Cooper CBE died in December 2000. His contribution to
motorsport. especially British motorsport. was immense and this
exceptionally low mileage Cooper S Touring represents one of the
last links to John Cooper and the Mini Cooper. This is. surely. a
true collector's piece.

Also published at eBay.co.uk

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