A Brief History Of The Rover Mini Cooper Sport 500
On
October 4th 2000, after 41 memorable years and 5,387,862 produced, production of
the most famous car ever, namely, the Mini, came to an end. Rover decided to end
it with great celebrations and also build a Special Edition, which would mark
the Final Classic Mini.
Rover decided to produce a whole new range for the last Minis. They released the
‘Mini Classic’ range, which included the Classic Mini Seven, Classic Mini
Cooper, and Classic Mini Cooper Sport. There was also another model released for
Europe, which was the Classic Mini Knightsbridge.
The English bunch I will write more about. The Classic Sevens were a throw back
to the Classic Mini of the Sixties, with its stylish retro trim and colour
schemes, and rode on classic 12” Alloy Pepper Pot wheels. The Cooper was a
smart, practical more traditional Classic Mini, and came with half leather trim,
12’’ Minilite wheels and handled more like the original Mini Coopers. Then the
daddy was The Classic Mini Cooper Sport, a modern car in a classic Mini. This
edition was full of luxury and came with full leather trim, alloy dash panel,
huge masculine Sport Pack arches and 13’’ alloys.
The UK Classic Edition was limited to 2500. I’m still trying to confirm the
exact figures from Rover - investigating the matter, it seems it would be broken
down in the following manner; there would be less of the Seven, a wee bit more
of the Cooper and the majority would have been the Cooper Sports.
On travelling in Europe and stopping at a Belgium Rover Dealer, I was given the
tale of the Europe specs for Belgium. They got the following, which I thought
was worth putting in this article for future reference. They received the
following, Classic Mini Sevens only in Solar Red and limited to 50, then the
Knightsbridge in Gold, British Racing Green, Black and Limited to 70, then the
Cooper Sports in Tahiti Blue, Solar Red, and Anthracite and Limited to 100. They
never received the Classic Cooper.
This above information supports the theory on the UK editions, and along with
this the amount of the Classic Editions seen on the road also supports the
theory as there are far more Cooper Sports then the Sevens.
The above final Classic Editions limited 2500 mention nothing of the rare and
much sought after, Classic Cooper Sport 500. These where made at the end of the
line, and are a separate batch of 500 that see in the end of the Mini’s
production. There is much confusion of these Minis with the Classic Cooper
Sports, (Non 500s), which have the same body spec, trim spec, and were also
available in the same colours. The 500s however, were only ever made in the
sports pack version with Platinum Silver roofs. There are many other tell tale
signs if you own a 500 or looking for one. All genuine 500s came with a rear
high-level brake light in the rear window. However, this doesn’t mean that all
cars with these are 500s. The lights were fitted to all Minis towards the end of
production as the law changed, but there are non 500s and others without them
and are a quick external check for owners or buyers of true 500s. The other
identifiable item fitted only to 500s is a dash plaque that is mounted within
the glove box compartment. This plaque states ’’THIS MINI IS ONE OF THE LAST 500
BUILT TO THE ORIGINAL SIR ALEC ISSIGONIS DESIGN’’. These plaques should only be
fitted to the Cooper Sport 500s. However. there are plaques around that were
excess stock (why make more than 500 plaques?!) or eBay fakes. Failing that fall
back on the chassis number.
The 500s came in 4 colours: Solar Red, Tahiti Blue, British Racing Green and
Anthracite.
There is much debate about these final Limited Editions. Many say, it’s not
unlike Rover to build more then 500. That has been denied by Rover, and we have
been given a list of the 500’s chassis numbers to help confirm them and to prove
that there are only 500. Then there is debate that 500/500 is not the last, it’s
the last number in the chassis list. Some people say that it wasn’t the last to
roll off the line, there may have been others but this is the final chassis
number and was taken early off the line to be hand finished knowing it was set
to be a Museum piece.
The Classic Cooper Sport 500s are the Final Chapter in the
Mini’s 41 year production history, and we believe that these are the ones we
should begin to track and record. I have set up a register for them as I
wouldn’t like to see these fall into the same fate as the Sixties Cooper ‘S’,
which there are more of today then ever built and many replicas.
The 500 is Rover’s last Mini built and reflects well on
the Mini’s life. It has the Classic shape, style and character of the 60’s Mini
with the luxury of the modern 2000 car with its full leather trim in the best
hides, the larger wheels which give a nice modern look, the Platinum Silver roof
and stripes add a modern touch of class, and the alloy dash which is a wonderful
tribute to John Cooper’s part in the Mini’s history.
The Cooper Sport 500s also received special gifts with the
purchase of the car, the owners received a Cooper Sport 500 shoulder bag full of
many Mini branded accessories including: a mini Cap, a T-shirt, and a fleece.
The only other important item is a certificate that states the car is a genuine
Cooper Sport 500 and on this, it states the chassis number and is signed by John
Cooper and Kevin Howe.
I have researched for many years into these cars,
but like anyone I would not say I’m an expert. I would appreciate if any members
have any more information on any of these cars that they would like to add,
please let me know. Or, if you feel I have made a mistake then also let me know.
The best people would be the line workers on the production line at the end -
I’m still looking for one of them.
In November 2005 a Cooper Sport 500 went for Auction at
BCA, follow the link to see the document they created for it detailing an
example :-
500 Auction Description
With thanks to Melanie, who has a letter from Rover detailing the colour
breakdown of the 500s, and Andy for getting hold of the info, these are how the
last 500 Minis are made up colour wise:-
Anthracite = 108
Solar Red = 110
Tahiti Blue = 128
British Racing Green = 154
Article courtesy of The Mini Cooper Register and Scott Young