Among this year’s anniversaries is that of the Mini Cooper. John Cooper and Alec Issigonis became pals while competing in British hillclimbs in the immediate postwar era. Issigonis had resurrected his Austin-powered Lightweight Special, a single-seater with a monocoque and rubber suspension, while Cooper was developing his 500-cc cars.
Issigonis could be a difficult man, he was a closet gay and that then was difficult, but he wholeheartedly approved of Cooper’s pragmatic approach. Cooper liked to play the part of being a simple mechanic, as a reaction to Colin Chapman and his brilliant, though mainly invented, university career.
