Mini Cooper Sport Defines Fun With Fuel Economy

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Originally uploaded by 89AKurt

Mini Cooper Sport Defines Fun With Fuel Economy
ByDiana Campbell

They're still rare enough on the Midwestern US streets that the sight of a Mini Cooper does register no matter how many other things I have on my mind. When I saw a Mini Cooper Sport convertible zipping through the stoplight with a big grin on the driver's face I knew I had to learn more about this car.

The Mini Cooper was designed and built to fulfill a very specific challenge. In 1957, the Suez Canal Crisis sent fuel costs in England soaring. So leaders at the Morris Car Company challenged their engineers and production teams to come up with a car that fit four very specific needs. It had to be small, fuel-efficient, capable of carrying four adults and affordable for just about anyone.

The Mini Cooper represented a real revolution in its design. To fit the small size requirement the engine was turned sideways. The make sure four adults could ride inside, the wheels were pushed all the way to the outside edge of the body. While people were a little skeptical at first, by 1961 the car was becoming very popular with younger british drivers. When racing legend John Cooper adopted and modified the Mini Cooper into his race car of choice, the Mini Cooper Sport was born. When it was driven to victory three years in a row in the Monte Carlo rally from 1964-1967 it's worldwide popularity exploded.

More than two million Mini Coopers were sold by 1969 and variations of the car included a mini pick-up. By 1977 they were best sellers around the world. That is, they were popular everywhere in the world except America. America emission regulations kept them off the roads.

It wasn't until March of 2002 that the first Mini Cooper was sold in the US. In 2003, it won the North American Car of the year award.

Great fuel economy wasn't achieved at the expense of performance in the development of the Mini Cooper. Nor did it come at the expense of style or fun.

From the very beginning, people associated the Mini Cooper with fun. Over and over in market tests, drivers likened the handling of the car with that of a go-cart. Inside the new cars, the center console and even the door handles are set up to resemble roll bars similar to go-cart or race car interiors.

Outside, custom paint jobs have been as popular for Mini Coopers as they are for most motorcycles. The car's small size makes such personalization affordable and further adds to the fun identity of the brand.

The 2009 models of the Mini Cooper Sport (or S as it is now known) will offer "spats," or fenders, that come in contrasting colors to the car's body much like the very first Mini Coopers. It also will offer rear support pillars hidden behind the windows that help maintain the car's four star safety rating as well as its looks. The 2009 Mini Cooper S with automatic is also epa rated to get 32 mpg highway and 23 in the city.

With all that going for it, I wonder how long it will be before there are so many on the roads that I stop noticing them.

Diana Campbell has been in love with cars since she got her first hand me down Tonka truck from her older brother. She writes about cars, SUVs, trucks and energy issues for a number of different online outlets including http://minicoopersportblog.com