Cars That Changed World Rallying, Part 2: BMC Mini Cooper S

Cliff Chambers
12 June 2025

Retro Rides Originals

British

From spending frosty mornings watching Ford Escorts barrel down the notorious ‘Mineshaft’ near Canberra, to managing Subaru’s Championship-winning team during the 1980s, Cliff Chambers has a long association with rallying. Who better, then, to take a look back at the cars that have been most influential in the sport? This is part two of 10 in this series.

From the minute the world set eyes on BMC’s Mini, there were people devising ways to make the little front-wheel drive car fast enough to beat bigger vehicles in race and rally contests.

John Cooper and his crew were already Formula 1 champions and knew a bit about how to make small engines perform like big ones. After starting with an unreliable short-stroke block, BMC increased the Mini’s engine capacity to 1071cc as they produced an ‘S’ version of the Cooper.

Mini Cooper S racing in the 1964 Monte Carlo Rally — The 1964-winning car featured a 1071cc engine, while later Cooper S models saw this bumped up to the now-familiar 1275cc engine size (Image: Mini)

In 1964, this car shocked its rivals and especially event organisers by winning the 1964 Monte Carlo Rally at the hands of Paddy Hopkirk. It finished ahead of a Ford Falcon Futura Sprint powered by a 4.7-litre V8, while Erik Carlsson – the rally’s winner in 1962 and ’63 – came third in his three-cylinder Saab 96 Sport.

The Cooper S then did nothing much until 1965 when a Mini again won the Monte and followed it with success in six other European Rally Championship events including the prestigious RAC in Britain.

Paddy Hopkirk, Timo Mäkinen, and Rauno Aaltonen with the Mini they drove to victory in the 1964 Monte Carlo Rally (Image: Mini)

By then, the Mini’s engine had grown to the now-familiar 1275cc size, with it developing around 70kW in rally tune. Top speed of a 1275cc Cooper S was barely 160km/h, but drivers like Rauno Aaltonen and Timo Mäkinen who were adept at left-foot braking could guide their Minis along twisting roads at undiminished pace.

In Australia, on rougher roads, the Mini struggled against Holdens and Ford Cortinas with their greater underbody clearance. However, in the hands of BMC’s public relations boss Evan Green, the Cooper S remained competitive in Australian Rally Championship events until 1970.

Want to know more about the history of automotive rallying? Click here to find out.

Cliff Chambers

Writer & Head Valuer

At age 14, surrounded by stacks of motoring magazines from the local junk shop, Cliff Chambers was warned by a concerned mother that he would ‘Never get anywhere knowing a lot about old cars.’ Seventeen years later when his definitive book, Making Money From Collectable Cars was published, she was proud to be proven wrong.

That was in 1987, but Cliff’s life was already revolving around all things automotive. From working part time in a panel shop while at university, he moved to motor industry consultancy roles and managing a Championship winning rally team.

During the 1990s he joined the classic vehicle insurance industry, at the same time becoming a prolific writer for magazines and motoring websites. Then came his ongoing contribution as one of the country’s leading vehicle valuers.

Away from work, automotive events and objects remain prominent in Cliff’s world. He has owned more than 40 cars now considered ‘classic’ and within his collection of motor-related items there remain some of those magazines acquired as a fact hungry teen.

Cliff brings to Retro Rides a blend of unique industry skills and a love of vehicles that will become more obvious with every contribution he makes to the site.