The first Mini with a Cooper badge debuted in 1961 and hit the racetrack soon after, capturing its first victory as an overlooked underdog. Sixty years later, MINI announces a new special edition vehicle commemorating the brand’s motorsport pedigree and iconic design, called the MINI Anniversary Edition. This exclusive, commemorative MINI will be offered in limited numbers, and honors three generations of Cooper heritage with elements reflecting John Cooper’s original high-performance creation alongside his son and grandson’s contributions to the John Cooper Works brand and vehicle design.
This new special edition marks an historic milestone much in the same way the MINI World Champion 50 Edition celebrated the 50th Anniversary of John Cooper’s first Formula title. Honoring the brand’s motorsport heritage, this new Anniversary Edition harkens back to the sporty appearance of classic Cooper Car Company and MINI Cooper cars. For the US market the MINI Anniversary Edition features several iconic design characteristics:
• Unlike other markets, the US cars will exclusively be built in classic British Racing Green with white bonnet stripes and red outlines, derived from Cooper Car Company design motifs.
• The Cooper Car Company logo is featured on the Anniversary Edition’s door sills and side scuttles.
• The number 74 is prominently placed on the hood of the Anniversary Edition as a tribute to the MINI Cooper’s first race, where the vehicle was given the number 74.
The MINI Anniversary Edition is available for the John Cooper Works Hardtop 2 Door, which has strong ties to the Cooper family’s work with MINI over the last six decades. To further signal the cooperation between the Cooper family and the MINI brand, the signatures of all three Cooper generations – John Cooper, John Michael Cooper, and Charlie Cooper – are etched in the cockpit facia of all Anniversary Edition models.
“The Cooper name shares a storied history with MINI, and this new Anniversary Edition reflects the Cooper performance heritage, offering a classic and sporty appearance,” said Patrick McKenna, Department Head of Marketing Product and Strategy, MINI USA. “John Cooper kicked off sixty years of performance innovation with the original Mini Cooper, and the Anniversary Edition honors the Cooper legacy that helped define MINI’s performance pedigree over the last six decades.”
