Fifty years on and still going strong, as an iconic pop culture car the Mini Cooper S is still calling the shots on the forecourts as car dealers up and down the country send thousands of the model packing off home with yummy-mummies, affluent just-passed learner drivers, and 20-something city hotshots.
Associated largely with being the star of Sixties’ flick The Italian Job, the Mini Cooper S single-handedly grabbed the spotlight from Michael Caine; and half a century on, the car’s still not quite done with its diva-like behaviour.
It’s an appearance that this car is pretty comfortable with to be honest, especially after the gutsy BMW takeover in 2000 that repositioned the brand from being an economy car for the masses to the loftier position of style-conscious urbanite’s accessory.
An accessory that’s no longer cheap as chips, and one that you’d be hard pushed to find a cockney driving. The modern Mini isn’t cheap, but it is incredibly stylish. And we’re not just talking about the exterior.
The Guardian describes the dashboard as containing a speedometer only slightly smaller in circumference than Big Ben. They’re not wrong…
This robust little runner comes in a snazzy convertible style, that when you take the easily removable roof off and put your foot down, that huge speed dial whirrs in to life.
Instantly recognisable, the Mini Cooper S’s roof rolls back to sit snugly behind the back seats where it remains concealed; until it springs to life to conveniently recover in the event of a potential accident. Very clever.
This timeless classic can be picked up on average for around £19,000, will happily hit a very nippy top speed of 138mph (but won’t “blow the bloody doors off!”) and accelerates from 0-62mph in 7.4 seconds. Outstanding.