1971 Mini Cooper S Mk. lll

Designed as project ADO15 (Austin Drawing Office project number 15), the Mini came about because of a fuel shortage caused by the 1956 Suez Crisis. Petrol was once again rationed in the UK, sales of large cars slumped, the market for German bubble cars boomed. Leonard Lord, the somewhat autocratic head of BMC, reportedly detested these cars so much that he vowed to rid the streets of them and design a 'proper miniature car'. He laid down some basic design requirements: the car should be contained within a box that measured 10 × 4 × 4 ft (3 × 1.2 × 1.2 m); and the passenger accommodation should occupy 6 ft (1.8 m) of the 10 ft (3 m) length; and the engine, for reasons of cost, should be an existing unit. Issigonis, who had been working for Alvis, had been recruited back to BMC in 1955 and, with his skills in designing small cars, was a natural for the task. The team that designed the Mini was remarkably small: as well as Issigonis, there was Jack Daniels (who had worked with him on the Morris Minor), Chris Kingham (who had been with him at Alvis), two engineering students and four draughtsmen. Together, by October 1957, they had designed and built the original prototype, which was affectionately named "The Orange Box" because of its colour.

The original Mk l was superceded by the Mk ll in 1967 which itself was superceded by the Mklll in 1969. Many variants were produced including the Mini Cooper and then several variants of a more powerful version the Cooper S.

This car is a genuine Mk lll Mini Cooper S and was the last but one car to come off the production line but was not registered for several months. (British Motor Industry Heritage Trust have confirmed that it was last but one off the 'line'.)

Finished in the unusual but factory correct colour of Blaze with a period accessory of a Webasto sunroof this car has covered just 58,000 miles from new and is in excellent condition. 'KUC 382 K' was subject to a ground up restoration some years ago, retaining the original bodyshell shell and body number, but with almost all panels being renewed with genuine BMC parts. (Bonnet; wings; front panels; D - posts; inner and outer sills; bootlid; doorskins, etc.) In addition, the floor welds were butt-welded and then ground to ensure absolutely no rust penetration.

The engine was rebuilt with a cosmetic rebore to 'first bore' tolerance, the crank did not require a regrind and new, standard bearings were used. The gearbox was also rebuilt at the same time.

To complete the restoration to such a high quality, new master cylinders and servo were installed, new battery and tyres, new subframes, new hydraulics, new headlining and the Webasto sunroof was refurbished.

This is an historic car in excellent condition and with only 1,570 Mklll Cooper S cars ever built. With prices rising for these iconic motor cars this surely represents a fantastic opportunity to own a stunning classic car that is already increasing in value.