2004 Mini Cooper S MC40

MINI and the 1964 Monte Carlo Rally – The Making of a Legend

What makes this limited edition so special is the historic event the MINI Cooper S MC40 commemorates. The 1964 Monte Carlo victory heralded the car as a worthy motorsport competitor and set the Mini on a course to become a motoring icon lasting 40 years to this very day.

The date was January 17th, 1964 and the Monte Carlo Rally was becoming more challenging than ever with the entry of well-organized factory teams. Competition for the Mini was stiff with bigger, more powerful cars from Ford, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo to Citroen, Saab and other pedigree challengers.

Piloted by fearless rally driver Paddy Hopkirk and his skilled navigator, Henry Liddon, the pint-sized Mini overcame great odds in all sorts of challenging conditions. Ice, twisty mountain passes, darkness and above all, formidable challengers, made for an exciting, flat-out drive for the team. On snowy sections of the route, the Mini’s nimble handling and front-wheel-drive proved advantageous over the more powerful, albeit heavier, larger rear-wheel-drive competition. In the final moments of the rally on the Grand Prix circuit, Paddy and the pint-sized Mini were tenacious, pulling a victory over the second place contender by little more than 30 points.

It certainly was the sensation in the rally season that year: A small red David with a white roof proudly showed its tailpipe to all those ultra-powerful Goliaths, clinching overall victory in the Monte Carlo Rally. And in this “big bang”, the tiny little car immediately became a legend.

Originally conceived as an inexpensive and economical means of transportation, the Mini had been transformed into the hot-blooded Mini Cooper and Mini Cooper S thanks to the legendary John Cooper of Formula 1 fame. John recognized the Mini’s excellent attributes as a quick and nimble performer with great potential on the motorsport circuits. The Mini Cooper and Mini Cooper S clearly stood out as the “every man’s sports car”.

Wherever the Mini – either in standard trim or in highly modified form – appeared at the start of a race, it was always good for a genuine surprise. Indeed, the Mini wrote many a headline in the world of rally racing, just like it made things more than difficult for the usual “tough guys” on race circuits the world over. There was truly no other car in the market able to offer the same kind of sporting performance for so little money and providing outstanding driving pleasure within such compact dimensions.

Forty years on nothing has changed: The features which once took the classic Mini to victory in that historic race to Monaco remain the basic ingredients of the MINI today. With its compact exterior dimensions, the new MINI simply whisks around corners, resting solidly on its wide track and long wheelbase. In particular, however, every driver given the opportunity to take the wheel of a MINI will feel immediately why entering the Monte Carlo Rally would indeed be a wonderful experience. Both generations of MINI clearly stand out from all other cars in precisely the same way. They are extremely agile and posses go-kart-like reflexes.

The MINI Cooper S MC40 – A Salute to History