Great fun for a lot of money - Austin Cooper S in the (historic) test

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Great fun for a lot of money - Austin Cooper S in the (historic) test

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Created on October 21, 1966

Text:

Günter Wiechmann

Photos:

Archiv BMW AG

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Archiv Reinhard / Max Pichler

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BMW AG

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Archiv

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Austin Mini Cooper S (1965) - the fastest way to drive a Mini

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Austin Mini Cooper S (1965) - with Hydrolastic suspension and 76 hp at 170 km/h

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Morris Cooper S (1964) - Novelty, available for the first time with 970, 1071 and 1273 cm3 - Geneva Motor Show 1964

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Austin Mini Cooper (1962) - on a test drive

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Austin Mini Cooper (1962) - the cute little car got faster and faster over time

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Morris Mini Cooper (1961) - Grand Prix drivers at the wheel of the fast Minis

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Austin Mini Cooper (1961) - together with the Cooper monoposto with one liter displacement

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Austin Mini (1961) - the new Deluxe, the beach car and the Cooper are presented

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Morris Mini Cooper S (1965) - with the dirt of the last rally - Geneva Motor Show 1965

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Austin Mini Cooper (1961) - the new signet

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Austin Mini Cooper (1961) - the interior of the sporty model

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Austin Mini Cooper (1962) - Engine and gearbox of the fast Mini

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Morris Mini Cooper S (1962) - sectional drawing

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Austin Mini Cooper S (1965) - Hydrolastic suspension

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Morris Cooper S (1964) - Rauno Aaltonen and Tony Ambrose at the Monte Carlo Rally

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Summary

Can a car just three meters long justify a price of over 10,000 marks? Especially when, on top of that, the equipment is meager and the comfort moderate? When looking at the Austin Cooper S, the voice of reason must be ignored for once. Because for its high price, it offers one thing above all: an incredible amount of driving pleasure. This historic test explains what makes this speedster so special.

This article contains the following chapters

A driving extreme
Little equipment, lots of space
1.3-liter powder keg
Cornering with full throttle and handbrake
Conclusion
Technical data & measured values

Estimated reading time: 12min

Preview (beginning of the article)

Hardly any other car that is seen as little on our roads as the Cooper S enjoys as much popularity and is so often used for comparisons as the Cooper S 1300 from the BMC siblings Austin or Morris. Subscribed rally victories, racing successes and the boundless amazement that the "Mini-Cooper's" power-to-size ratio continues to generate are the reason for this. However, the fame of the Cooper S, from which the weaker 850 and 1000 models in particular benefit in terms of advertising, and its originality have to be paid for disproportionately dearly in Germany. As much as this model offers technically and conceptually, the 10,000-mark car is disappointing in terms of equipment. There are cars in this price range on the continent that outperform the Cooper S in terms of driving performance. However, they certainly don't convey the kind of rascally fun that can only be experienced from this mole's perspective.

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