John Cooper sold his own modified Minis under the ‘Mini-Cooper’ name from the mid-1980s onwards, before Rover’s acquisition of the rights to the name made it possible to officially re-launch the model in September 1990.

The new Mini-Cooper was based on the Mini 30, the most luxuriously equipped Limited Edition Mini to date, but was fitted with the 1,275cc engine rather than the 30’s 998cc unit.

John Cooper’s involvement did not end there however.

In March 1991 his Rover-approved Mini-Cooper ‘S’ conversion kit went on sale, a package that boosted power from the stock 61 to 78bhp.

Suspension improvements included adjustable shock absorbers and low-profile tyres.

That same year the Mini-Cooper was updated with single-point fuel injection to enable it to comply with emissions legislation, becoming the ‘1.3i’, and once again there was a factory-approved John Cooper high performance conversion, this modified model being known as the Mini-Cooper Si.

This particular Mini-Cooper is the ve...