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1962 Austin MINI Cooper

The Mini was born out of necessity during the fuel shortage caused by the 1956 Suez Crisis. The United Kingdom rationed petrol and sales of large cars slumped. The market for German 'bubble' cars, however, skyrocketed. Leonard Lord, the head of BMC, reportedly detested these cars so much that he vowed to build a 'proper miniature car.'

Alec Issigonis, who had been working for Alvis, was recruited back to BMC in 1955. Upon arriving, his skills were put to use. Issigonis was joined by Jack Daniels, (who had worked with him on the Morris Minor), Chris Kingham, two engineering students and four draughtsmen. By October of 1957, the team had designed and built the original prototype, which was named 'The Orange Box' in reference to its color.

Issigonis had a friend named John Cooper, who immediately recognized the potential of the little car for competition use. The Austin Mini Copper and Morris Mini Cooper made their debut in 1961.


By Daniel Vaughan | Sep 2016

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Three generations of driving fun: The MINI Cooper and MINI Cooper S through the years.

Three generations of driving fun: The MINI Cooper and MINI Cooper S through the years.

For three generations and over 50 years, the Cooper name has identified a MINI offering even more in the way of driving fun. The idea, hatched by brilliant Formula One designer John Cooper, to fuel the agile small car with an extra hit of performance and turn it into a sporting machine for the road and track has lost none of its appeal. But the Cooper has never been about horsepower, as a comparison....
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Performance and Specification Comparison

Price Comparison

1962 MINI Cooper
$1,726-$16,700
1962 Austin MINI Cooper Base Price : $1,726

Compare: Lower | Higher | Similar

Other 1962 Austin Models

Mini Cooper MKI

Specification Comparison by Year

Year
Production
Wheelbase
Engine
Prices
80.20 in.
4 cyl., 51.75 CID., 37.00hp
$1,295 - $1,295
80.00 in.
4 cyl., 51.75 CID., 37.00hp
80.00 in.
4 cyl., 51.75 CID., 37.00hp
$1,726 - $1,726
80.00 in.
4 cyl., 60.84 CID., 55.00hp
80.00 in.
4 cyl., 51.75 CID., 34.00hp
$1,726 - $1,726
80.00 in.
4 cyl., 60.84 CID., 55.00hp
80.00 in.
4 cyl., 51.75 CID., 37.00hp
4 cyl., 60.84 CID., 55.00hp
$1,726 - $1,726
80.00 in.
4 cyl., 60.84 CID., 55.00hp
4 cyl., 60.90 CID., 55.00hp
$1,730 - $1,730
80.00 in.
4 cyl., 77.81 CID., 78.00hp
$2,350 - $2,350
80.00 in.
4 cyl., 77.81 CID., 78.00hp
$2,350 - $2,350
80.00 in.
4 cyl., 77.81 CID., 78.00hp
$2,350 - $2,350
80.00 in.
4 cyl., 77.81 CID., 78.00hp
$2,430 - $2,430
4 cyl., 51.87 CID., 34.00hp

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