Legendary Cooper stories shared at MTTS 2018

Hundreds of MINI fans who gathered for the MINI TAKES THE STATES 2018 end-of-rally celebration, especially those who love the John Cooper Works brand, were delighted to hear a selection of stories about John Cooper and his motorsport exploits from a close relative and descendant of the man himself.

Charlie Cooper, who is the grandson of John Cooper and who is now an ambassador for the MINI and JCW brands, met hundreds of motorers on the final day of the event in Keystone, Colorado, when he made two live presentations about the JCW Heritage.

He spoke of his memories of his grandfather and the respect and reverence that was shown to him by many of the greats in motorsport. He spoke of how his family had continued John Cooper’s legacy of innovation and technology, particularly in motorsport and performance, and how his father Michael had launched the John Cooper Works brand in 2000, the same year that his grandfather died.

He spoke of how his grandfather’s mantra of lightness, agility and handling could still be seen in the MINI John Cooper Works cars of today.

He spoke of how it was those philosophies that led to his grandfather being responsible for Formula 1 world championships in 1959 and 1961 and how many famous motorsport names owed much of their success to his influence, names such as Bruce McLaren, Jack Brabham and even Steve McQueen, who he taught to race cars.
He also told the story of how Cooper cars came to be distinguished by the two white stripes seen on many MINIs today, and how his grandfather fitted them to differentiate his cars from the other British racing cars that had to use the same national colour – British Racing Green for the UK – as was the situation in the 1950s.

“My grandfather only wanted to create 1,000 Mini Coopers originally to homologate them for racing but the success of the MINI Cooper legacy even continues today and the name is still growing,” he said.

Charlie, 37, who is now the owner of Cooper Bikes, a company that produces bicycles and e-bikes, spoke fondly of his own 1965 Mini Cooper S MkII that he still drives in London, and his everyday cars, a Hardtop and a Countryman JCW.

He was also clearly blown away by the number of MINI motorers and their cars who were in Keystone for the conclusion of the Rally to the Rockies. “It really is amazing to see so many passionate fans of the brand and to see the level of support that MINI and JCW enjoy,” he said.

“I also wasn’t expecting so many people to know the story of the name of Cooper and its history. Their passion is really very special,” he added.