The Mini Cooper: Luxury Redux

Over the weekend, my husband Michael was reading the March 2012 Robb Report on 12 of the best luxury cars. Included in this elite class were the usual suspects: Aston Martin with it’s V-12 engine 510 hp, etc, the Lotus Evora S, the Mercedes-Benz… I wasn’t too surprised at his interest in those types of cars even through his first love is British Classic Motorcycles. I was challenged to name my number one car, and the reason(s) behind that choice, even though he already knew the answer. Of course, the Mini Cooper S type came into the conversation. This small bundle of extreme horse power, I suspect, will always be my choice. Not only is the mini cooper one of the most beautifully designed car, in 1999 it was voted the second most influential car of the 20th century, behind the Ford Model T. Not to be overlooked is the fact that a few years ago, Mini Cooper challenged Porsche to a racing match, and lost by just 2 seconds!

The history of the mini, is a long and illustrious one. This distinctive two-door car was designed for BMC by Sir Alec Issigonis of England.

Despite its utilitarian origins, the classic Mini shape had become so well known that by the 1990s, Rover Group —the heirs to BMC—were able to register its design as a trade mark in its own right.”Number One Classic Car of All Time” (Classic & Sports Car magazine 1996) and “European Car of the Century” in a worldwide Internet poll run by the prestigious Global Automotive Elections Foundation in 1999. The original Mini achieved second place for “Global Car of the Century” in the same poll (behind the Model T Ford). In April 2010 Kelly Blue Book included the Mini Cooper as one of its Top 10 Green Cars for 2010. Earlier this year, Motor Trend magazine tested the Honda CR-Z, Valkswagen Beetle, Hyundai Veloster, Fiat 500, Scion tC, Mini Cooper, which of these “Kings of Quirky” do you think made the grade, and had the best value? The Mini Cooper, of course. The Pulitzer Prize-winning automotive journalist Dan Neil has suggested that, with the introduction of the Countryman, Mini had pushed the marque beyond relevance by making a car so long, wide and tall it forsook the inner logic of the brand: excellent handling in a tiny size.