The original Mini  is considered an icon of 1960s British popular culture. Its space-saving transverse engine and front-wheel drive layout allowing 80% of the area of the car's floorpan to be used for passengers and luggage influenced a generation of car makers In 1999, the Mini was voted the second-most influential car of the 20th century, behind the Ford Model T, and ahead of the Citroën DS (also in stock) and Volkswagen Beetle The front-wheel-drive, transverse-engine layout of the Mini was copied for other "supermini" designs.

This distinctive two-door car was designed for BMC by Sir Alec Issigonis. It was manufactured at the Longbridge and Cowley plants in England, and many other locations around the world – with ours being a Longbridge production.

The performance versions, the Mini Cooper and Cooper "S", were successful as both race and rally cars, winning the Monte Carlo Rally in 1964, 1965, and 1967. In 1966, the first-placed Mini (along with nine other cars) was disqualified after the finish, under a controversial decision that the car's headlights were against the rules. 

On its introduction in August 1959, the Mini was marketed under the Austin and Morris names, as the Austin Seven and Morris Mini-Minor. The Austin Seven was renamed Austin Mini in January 1962 and Mini became a marque in its own right in 1969  In 1980, it once again became the Austin Mini, and in 1988, just "Mini" (although the "Rover" badge was applied on some models exported to Japan).  This is where our special Mini was exported to under that Rover name.

BMW acquired the Rover Group (formerly British Leyland) in 1994, and sold the greater part of it in 2000, but retained the rights to build cars using the MINI name.

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The Mini was offered in a number of limited editions that usually included a special combination of trim and badging, but some also included mechanical upgrades.

 

We imported this car in 2019, but sometimes you don’t always have delivered what you expect.  There were some issues which we will get on to, but the most obvious one was the VIN plate in the boot stated that the colour was RCR (British Racing Green).  We didn’t associate the Monte Carlo with this colour and immediately thought we’d been sold a look-alike.  The information widely circulated is that 200 models were released to celebrate Paddy Hopkirk's return to the Monte Carlo Rally, 30 years after his original win - 100 in Flame Red and another 100 in Black. RCR therefore seemed problematic.

A Classic Mini enthusiast and importer/exporter of them in Japan, confirmed that there were as few as 50 British Racing Green Mini Cooper Monte Carlo’s sold to Japan.  This makes this car very rare indeed.
Now back to the other things we weren’t expecting:  The condition of the car on arrival wasn’t as described.  The gearbox crunched, the engine sub-frame wasn’t in great condition. The wheels were in need of a refurb.  It was missing all the decals the special edition came with and the front light bar, with the iconic four spotlights.

The front end needed a respray, so we were given the perplexing task of deciding whether to repaint the whole car in British Racing Green, to restore the original factory finish of 1 in 50 cars, or to keep the Fame Red exterior.  Tough call, as we like to keep cars original.  It was decided eventually to keep the Flame Red.  After-all, only 100 of these were ever produced – it was an original Monte Carlo regardless and Paddies signature colour, as used in the rallies.

So here you have it -  a rare special edition, with the potential next time the car is restored to be an even rarer collectors car.

At the time of writing this, the car’s engine and gearbox have been refurbished, new windows and rubbers have been fitted, the car has been painted where needed and all the decals have been re-installed.
The engine has been reinstalled, we have brand new Ultralite wheels & Falken tyres and then it will be MOT’d.

There will be a few jobs such as the fitting of the light-bar and re-gassing of the air-con, but it should be about ready to go.

We even have a replica vintage roof-rack as an option, if you prefer to store your spare wheels up top!

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The car is currently registered on NOVA (Notification of Vehicle Arrival) and is pending import.