Little did the classic Morris Mini Cooper S Mk1 know that its triumph at the 1964 Monte Carlo Rally would result in a limited edition car being built in its honor more than half a century later. The 2021 MINI Hopkirk Edition was unveiled back in September and is based on the Cooper S hardtop two-door model. It boasts exclusive exterior paint, to go with the #37 on the doors, a ‘Paddy Hopkirk Monte Carlo’ inscription and a white hood stripe. It is available with both an automatic and a manual transmission, with the engine delivering 178 HP and 280 Nm of torque. In a straight line, it can hit 100 km/h in 6.7 seconds with the automatic, or 6.8 seconds if you’re operating the manual gearbox.
While racing in 1964, Patrick ‘Paddy’
Hopkirk, a Northern Irish driver, clinched his first victory behind the wheel
of the #37 Cooper S, aided by English co-pilot Henry Liddon. Hopkirk overcame
the odds, as he was racing against competitors with considerably more powerful
engines. So him meeting the car built to honor his accomplishment definitely
feels right.
He then went on to reminisce about the
Monte Carlo Rally and his win, adding: “Everybody wanted to win the Monte Carlo
Rally, it was a very glamorous event, so when I joined the British Motor
Corporation and the Mini came along it surprised the world. It became a David
and Goliath with the might of the other car manufacturers spending a fortune to
try and win the event. We were beaten by the big American cars down the
straights, but we would beat them on the twisty bits! For the Mini to win
against really powerful cars, showed just how good it was – it made the car
famous.”
The MINI Paddy Hopkirk Edition is
available to order in the UK as well as the U.S.
