The reborn Cooper outlasted the MG upstart and former Mini Magazine editor explains just why that was so.
The MG Metro is thearchetypal definition ofmuch-maligned, but I’m not going to start by giving it a hard time – and that’s not just because I happen to work for the MG Car Club. Truth be told, I’m a massive fan of the go-faster Metro. A nice early Y-suffix example or a late Turbo with its colour-coded bodykit would have a prized place in my dream garage – ideally both. But if that garage only had room for one car, then I’d be filling it with a nice Rover Mini Cooper.
It’s all a bit tragic when a father outlives his son, but this case is an exception. The MG Metro was often billed as a spiritual successor to the original Mini Cooper S, which was discontinued in 1971. This certainly had some validity –by the time the hot Metro was launched in 1982, the Mini range was rationalised to only include the 998cc engine with its 38bhp, so the 72bhp Metro was certainly a better bet for going fast, and the 93bhp Turbo version even more so. But after a 1980s lull, the Mini’s popularity soared again as the decade drew to a close, triggered by a thriving Japanese market. This would eventually lead to the return of the Cooper name, with John Cooper launching a Rover-approved tuning kit for the 998 cars.
This story is from the December 13, 2017 edition of Classic Car Buyer.
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This story is from the December 13, 2017 edition of Classic Car Buyer.
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