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Mini Cooper

Mini Cooper

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Lot number 72
Hammer value £3,700
Description Mini Cooper
Registration M790 VRR
Year 1995
Colour Green
Engine size 1,275 cc
Chassis No. SAXXNYAXMBD108040

The original Mini Cooper was launched in 1961 with a tuned 997cc engine that produced 55bhp.

A real giant-slayer, its extraordinary agility meant it could easily humble much more powerful cars both on road and track, although it was perhaps most famous for winning the gruelling Monte Carlo Rally in 1964, 1965 and 1967 (it won the 1966 rally as well, but was disqualified by the French judges on totally spurious grounds).

The Mini had gone into something of a decline by the 1980s and new owners Rover resorted to a bewildering array of special editions to try and keep the sales figures above water. However, the re-launch of the Mini Cooper in 1990 brought about a genuine revival of interest in the brand, particularly in Japan.

The new Cooper had a 63bhp 1275cc carburettor engine and an even better fuel-injected version was introduced in 1991. When BMW took control of the Rover Group in 1994, the Cooper stayed in production and build quality went up along with more luxurious interiors and a raft of interesting options. The last Mini Cooper was built in October 2000, over 41 years after the first Mini had rolled off the production line.

This 1995 fuel-injected LHD model was sold new in Brescia. Purchased by the vendor in 2006 from a lady who had a specialist pen shop in the centre of town, he used it for some time in Italy, bringing it back to the UK and registering it here in 2012. He advises us that it runs and drives beautifully and is fitted with attractive green-tinted windows and a super electrically operated full-length Webasto-style sunroof.

Garaged from new, it shows just 57,675km (36,000 miles) on the clock and has spent all but the last couple of years in the benign climate of Northern Italy. As a consequence its bodywork is said to be remarkably rust-free and it comes with an MOT until April 2015.

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