John Cooper Garages - A Performance Odyssey

The Cooper name is an indelible and crucial part of the Mini legacy. In today’s modern MINI range, every single variant of the hatchback is now badged ‘Cooper’; in the States, the term ‘Mini Cooper’ is a common shorthand to describe any classic Mini. The etymology of the Cooper surname itself stems from craftsmen who made wooden barrels and casks, and it’s fair to say that tradition of hands-on craft was comprehensively reframed in a modern context by John Cooper in the 1960s.

We delve into the history of John Cooper's influence on the Mini, charting the journey from the original racing-inspired Cooper models to the renowned John Cooper Garage and its iconic performance upgrades. From the Mini Cooper's humble beginnings to its rebirth in the 1990s, we explore the key milestones that solidified its place in automotive history.

The birth of a racing legacy

Having co-founded the Cooper Car Company with his father, Charles, in 1947, performance motoring was always in the blood. Their humble suburban premises on Hollyfield Road, Surbiton, churned out ever-more successful racing cars through the 1950s, with their mid-engined single-seaters reaching the very pinnacle of motorsport, competing in Formula One and the Indy 500. Everyone who was anyone wanted to be driving a Cooper – Bruce McLaren, Jack Brabham, Stirling Moss, they all came knocking.

The Cooper name became synonymous with motorsport success during the 1950s, thanks to John Cooper and his father’s revolutionary work at the Cooper Car Company. Their mid-engined racing cars took the world by storm, attracting legendary drivers like Bruce McLaren and Stirling Moss.

The Mini Cooper’s rise to icon status

The Cooper star was very much in the ascendent at the time when BMC launched the new-for-1959 Mini, and when John Cooper asked the press department for a Mini to borrow, it would have been churlish to refuse. You see, this was a man with vision, a truth proven time and again by his engineering prowess and innovative methods, and the vision that Cooper had for the Mini was some way removed from its original design principles: whereas Alec Issigonis had conceived this revolutionary machine as an affordable and practical family runabout, Cooper could see the performance potential hiding within the cleverly packaged platform, in both the nimble chassis and the eminently tuneable A-series engine. Having run modified versions of this engine in his Formula Junior racers, it seemed like a no-brainer to try dropping a hot one into a Mini, and the results were a revelation.

The vision for a performance Mini

Positive about the avenues of opportunity that this fusion could open up, Cooper approached Issigonis in 1960 about the idea of a performance Mini… and was quickly rebuffed. But, like a dog with a bone, he then took the idea to BMC’s managing director, George Harriman, who offered a rather more sympathetic ear. A deal was struck to develop and homologate a quick Mini, and at a stroke history was made. BMC’s development through the newly-minted ADO50 program yielded a revvy 997cc A-series with twin carbs and a peak output of 55bhp, and this paved the way for all of the supremely capable and desirable Cooper and Cooper S models that have followed across the decades; stars of rallying and Touring Car racing, darlings of Carnaby Street, championed by the great and good from The Beatles to Peter Sellers, an icon was born. A sensible family runabout with the heart of a race car.

The last of what can be considered the original run of Mini Cooper models was retired from the range in June 1971 with the Mk3 Cooper S. And this was the year that John Cooper, having retired to the Sussex coast, opened up a garage business in Ferring, near Worthing, selling Mini Cooper performance parts to an audience that was still extremely hungry for such things. BMC may have called time on the nomenclature but the legacy endured; the Mini Cooper name was synonymous with effervescent performance and high quality, and the Ferring forecourt became a mecca for Mini owners seeking to amp up their cars’ performance and handling prowess.

The Mini Cooper RSP

With such a celebrated reputation, it was perhaps inevitable that the Mini Cooper name would be ripe for an official revival at some point, and this came to pass in fine style in the 1990s. John Cooper Garages teamed up with the Rover Group in 1989 to develop a package of 998 Cooper upgrade kits to be officially available under warranty, followed by Cooper convincing the Rover Special Projects (RSP) team to develop a new 1275cc Cooper model, the result being the Mini Cooper RSP of 1990. It was such a popular concept that the official Rover models and the Cooper tuning kits developed in tandem; buyers could upgrade a stock new Rover Mini with, for example, a Janspeed S pack from John Cooper Garages that lifted power to 78bhp, followed by ever-spicier options taking peak outputs beyond 90bhp. The John Cooper Works Si package is particularly fondly remembered, providing 82bhp thanks to a performance cylinder head, high-lift rockers and a Janspeed exhaust system, all of which came fully certified and documented as an approved conversion. And as for showroom models, there was a positive plethora of them through the 1990s…

Rover’s special edition Minis

The limited-run Cooper Monte Carlo of 1994 (of which just 200 were built) dressed up the factory Cooper 1.3i with Monte Carlo decals and a two-tone interior trimmed to evoke the Coopers of the 1960s, and this paved the way for the much-celebrated Mini-Cooper 35 of 1996 – a fully-loaded Cooper in Almond Green with swish leather trim and ‘Mini Cooper 1961-1996’ branding. This was followed in 1998 by the Cooper Sports LE (limited to 100 units), a much sought-after special with a fabulous spec: Sportspack arches, 6”-wide wheels, leather trim, walnut dash, and the evocative addition of BMC-esque rosettes and British Vita-echoing ‘V’ graphics. It was sufficiently revered that, in 1999, Rover followed up with the John Cooper LE 40 (illustrated above), this time a run of 300 units, finished in Cooper Works colours – Brooklands Green, Old English White roof – plus Sportspack arches and Grenadine Red leather trim. And the last hurrah in the showroom was the Cooper Sport 500, of which 500 examples were built in 2000; the regular Cooper Sport spec was augmented with a last-of-the-line commemorative plaque and a goodie bag of Cooper-branded merch along with a generous ticking of the option boxes.

John Cooper Garages’ special edition releases

In addition to Rover’s own Cooper specials, John Cooper Garages had been very busy indeed producing special edition Minis. 1994’s Cooper Grand Prix was super-obscure – just 35 were built – and was a fabulous fusion of show-and-go; under the bonnet was a big-valve head and unique cams, while the cabin sported ruched leather and walnut. Purists rejoiced in 1995 when, for the first time in a quarter of a century, it was possible to buy a brand new Mini Cooper S (illustrated above): John Cooper Garages’ efforts here elevated power from 64 to 86bhp, also adding adjustable dampers, stainless trim and Cooper S decals.

If rarity is your bag, how about the Cooper S 35? A 1996 special edition, just five of these were built, celebrating the 35^th anniversary of the Mini Cooper. Using Rover’s aforementioned Almond Green Cooper 35 as a base, five of the 200 cars were shipped to John Cooper Garages for conversion to Cooper S spec, to create something of a unicorn on the collector market.

1999 saw John Cooper Garages develop three distinct limited-run specials, the first of which was the Cooper S Touring. 100 were built, and the specs can take a little unpicking for Mini historians as it was possible to spec them with or without the Sportspack, and it was also possible to pay an additional £1655 for a Jack Knight 5-speed gearbox. Which leads us to the second 1999 special, the Cooper S Sport 5, of which 30 units were built. This was much like the Touring in essence, but always equipped with the Jack Knight 5-speed and the Sportspack arches. And finally we come to the Cooper S Works of 1999-2000. This was tantalising indeed, with a 90bhp power upgrade, engine-turned interior trim, plus the option of again paying extra for the Sportspack and the 5-speed. The S Works package was so desirable that Rover added it to their ‘Classic’ runout showroom models too, so all of these trinkets could be found in the final-year Seven S Works, Cooper SE Works and Cooper Sport SE Works.   

Closure of the famous dealership

John Cooper Garages officially closed its doors in August 2006, although Mike Cooper kept continuing his father’s work with the supply of aftermarket tuning parts developed both in-house and in conjunction with BMW for the MINI models. The name continues to resonate through automotive lore, and it’s one that will always be inextricably intertwined with the history of the Mini. It’s the heritage and the provenance that make Minis built or converted by John Cooper Works so eminently desirable, and these are cars that you’ll often find in stock at Phil Mires Classic Cars. This Cooper S Touring (illustrated above), for instance, was a project car built by MiniWorld magazine with the engine conversion work carried out at John Cooper Garages’ Ferring workshop. This ’95 Cooper Si was supplied new by John Cooper Garages, while Sportspack fans will surely enjoy this ’99 Cooper (illustrated below), which was taken to John Cooper Garages for the 90bhp S Works engine conversion when it was just six months old. And for those who appreciate a rare groove, behold the splendour of the 1999 Rover John Cooper LE 40, resplendent in Brooklands Green and Grenadine Red leather. The story of John Cooper Garages left a rich and vibrant legacy, and it’s one that we’re proud to continue at Phil Mires Classic Cars by sourcing and supplying the very finest examples.

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