New MINI JCW Anniversary Edition celebrates 60 years of Cooper | Auto Express

This year marks the 60th anniversary of MINI’s partnership with motorsport ace John Cooper, and this new limited edition MINI John Cooper Works Anniversary Edition has been built to mark the occasion. 

In 1961, John Cooper – a veteran of Formula 1, with a constructors title to his name – decided that the lightweight, cleverly packaged original Mini would form the perfect basis for a performance model, and set about building a more powerful Mini, christened the ‘Cooper’.

The even more sporting Cooper S version followed, a formidable rallying machine that won the Monte Carlo rally in 1964, 1965 and 1967. The John Cooper name has been synonymous with high-performance Minis ever since, with the JCW moniker marking the pinnacle of series production Minis to this day.

In tribute to the partnership, MINI is building just 740 JCW Anniversary Edition cars, each featuring a Rebel Green colour scheme with bespoke nostalgic details.

The Anniversary Edition is mechanically unchanged from the standard JCW, so comes equipped with a 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine. This sends 227bhp to the front wheels through either a manual or automatic gearbox, propelling the car from 0-62mph in 6.3 seconds.

Aesthetically, the Anniversary Edition is finished in Rebel Green with a contrasting white roof, bonnet stripes, headlight rings and door handles. There are also flashes of red detailing, with red pinstripes on the bonnet decals, red brake callipers and a classic Cooper Company badge on the side scuttles. 

The car also features the number 74 on the doors and bonnet, paying homage to the starting number of a classic Mini Cooper that won its first race at the Snetterton Lombank Trophy.

Inside, there are more classic Cooper Company badges on the sill plates and steering wheel, with the rest of the interior trimmed in Dinamica upholstery and piano black trim. The dashboard has also been given a special touch, with signatures from John Cooper, his son John Cooper and grandson Charlie Cooper.

As a nod to the Mini’s motorsport efforts, a door frame emblem with John Cooper’s signature, a handwritten ‘1 of 740’ script and the words “THE UNEXPECTED UNDERDOG” has also been added.

The Anniversary Edition comes fitted with MINI’s Navigation Plus Pack (featuring an 8.9-inch touchscreen with navigation) and Comfort Plus Pack as standard, and is only available in three-door guise. Prices start at £33,800 for the manual model, rising to £35,500 for the automatic. The JCW Anniversary Edition is available to order now, with just 60 of the 740 cars destined for the UK.

Click here for our review of the MINI JCW GP…