Austin Morris Mini Cooper Rallying Birthday Greetings card by Artist Eric Bottomley
When initially designed, the Mini was meant to be a comfortable car for shopping and lady drivers were a target market. It was soon realised that the car’s radical design with the four wheels at the very corners of the vehicle and front-wheel drive gave fantastic handling and when John Cooper enlarged the engine to 997cc, along other necessary changes, the Mini Cooper was born. The nimble little car would win numerous rallies and races for the next decade and become a firm favourite in the Rallying fraternity. Larger Coopers were also made and the car was further modified by Downton engineering to boost engine power even further.
