The notion that the Mini might have a future as anything other than basic transport was an anathema, the idea of a high-performance version was laughable.

One man though, saw it quite differently.

Racing car manufacturer John Cooper already knew quite a bit about tuning BMC’s A-Series engine, he was running the company’s Formula Junior effort at the time and a test drive in a prototype Mini convinced him of the car’s competition potential.

The Mini Cooper soon established its credentials as a rally and race winner and the stage was set for even faster versions.

The first of these, the 1071cc Mini Cooper ‘S’ of 1963, took engine development a stage further and provided the basis for the 971 ‘S’ and 1275 ‘S’ of 1964.

This wonderfully original Cooper S Mark 1 is more than a little unusual.

This particular car was bought by a wealthy American Rolls Royce and Bentley collector, along with a Mini 850 for his wife, in the very early 1970’s.

He then decided to send the Cooper S to the l...