ROVER MINI COOPER

The revived Cooper of the Nineties is the best value ticket into a fast Mini but it can be improved even further, despite the modern tweaks. Even ’60s Cooper S owners will be jealous

While still sharing a lot visually with their Sixties ancestors, the Rover Cooper is incompatible with the vast amount of the tuning parts for the original cars, with only the rubber cone suspension remaining largely the same after two Cooper-less decades.

Using a 61bhp version of the 1275cc MG Metro engine, Rover produced its first Coopers with a limited run of 1650 cars in 1990. This was then followed by a full production run Cooper, the ‘carb Cooper’, before fuel injection arrived in 1991. Featuring first single-point (spi) and then multipoint injection (mpi), this didn’t bring any noticeable extra power to the Cooper, though torque increased marginally.

At the same time as the addition of the mpi system, in 1996, the standard Mini range was brought up to Cooper specification, with Coopers now only offering different trim – meaning these late 1.3is can be a great start point for modification because they are usually a bit cheaper than the mechanically-identical Coopers.

Rover Coopers were never slow, but equally weren’t as fast as the old Cooper S in standard form, so even from new, tuning kits were available to boost the car’s power output. Stage one kits are available from the many Mini specialists that provide a complete exhaust system and air filter, which can be fitted with just some axle stands and a ratchet. This should provide an easy extra 5-10bhp, or if you’ve got more to spend, stage two and three kits are also available, as are superchargers. Of course, a lot of modification on the Mini tends to be cosmetic. Some people change the trim on their Rover Cooper to make it look more like a Sixties car, while others just alter things to their personal taste. Many prefer both the look and feel of 10in wheels, rather than 12s and 13s fitted as standard, but you’ll need to change the brakes for more compact units to do this. However, once you have, the options for aftermarket rims widens considerably.

With such parts availability and interchangeability, it’s really just a question of taste. And the size of your wallet.

ADJUST THE RIDE £100 MiniSport’s Adjusta Ride kit replaces the ‘trumpets’ that hold the Mini’s rubber cones with adjustable items, allowing you to lower the car to your taste. Don’t go too far though, as you’ll bottom out on speed humps. FIT 10in...