Let’s be straight about this – there is no such thing as MINI Cooper Car Company. It is a common confusion caused by mixing the name of legendary Cooper Car Company with MINI Cooper brand that refers to racing and performance variations of MINI cars originally made in collaboration between the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and the Cooper Car Company.
The Origin of MINI Cooper
Initially, MINI cars were solely a product of the British Motor Corporation. The first MINI, named Mark I, was tied to BMC’s other brand names, which included the Morris Minor and Austin, and was launched in 1959. The MINI Cooper was modeled as a special version of the first generation MINI, with John Cooper, car maker of the Cooper Car Company, recognizing the potential to create a motorsports version of the same car. The first MINI Cooper and its successor MINI Cooper S were launched in 1961 and 1963 respectively. These iconic cars featured 848cc engines for the Cooper and 1071cc for the Cooper S.
The MINI Cooper S’s iconic appeal as a sportier version of classic MINI was emphasised by the success at the Monte Carlo Rally in 1964, 1965, and 1967, as well as its appearance in classic British caper film ”The Italian Job”, in which MINIs and MINI Coopers played a key role in a bank heist. During this time, BMC (and MINI) became part of British Motor Holdings. The parent company, in turn, merged with Leyland Motors in 1968 to form British Leyland. One year later, MINI became a marque in its own right.
Transitional Period
The future of MINI Cooper was somewhat uncertain through the 1970s and the 1980s as the license for the brand was sold to other European companies. In the 1980s, British Leyland was broken-up; MINI became part of Rover Group that was acquired by the British Aerospace. In 1994, German automobile, motorcycle, and engine manufacturing company BMW acquired Rover Group. Finally, in 2000, Rover Group was broken up, with BMW retaining the MINI brand and its derivatives. Thus, the iconic British car became 100% German.
MINI Cooper as part of BMW Group
The MINI Cooper, MINI Cooper S and the youngest MINI John Cooper Works (established in memoriam of John Cooper) continue to underpin much of the MINI’s appeal and are set to continue to feature improved versions of the main MINI marque, as well as enabling new models to be tested. It is reasonable and wise that BMW tries to save the legacy and style while designing new models for new markets. The MINI Hatch/Hardtop, Clubman, Convertible, Coupe, and Roadster are assembled at BMW’s Plant Oxford in Cowley, England while the Countryman and Paceman are assembled by Magna Steyr in Austria. There are also Prodrive WRC Team that developed MINI John Cooper Works WRC in cooperation with BMW for participation in World Rally Championship since 2011 and X-Raid Team that uses MINI ALL4 Racing in various rallies, including Dakar Rally.
Cooper Car Company at present
The Cooper Car Company also continues to exist. It is rather small but independent company based in Padiham that works in partnership with BMW. In 2009, Mike Cooper, the son of John Cooper, launched Cooper Bikes, the bicycle division of the Cooper Car Company, while the main business remains to be the selling ”Genuine Cooper” classic MINI parts, according to company’s official site.