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The Mini Cooper will be 60 years on 20^th September, and naturally, we will be celebrating this milestone in summer. To best understand just how the Austin “Seven” Cooper/Morris Mini Cooper twins transformed the sports saloon, take a look at five potential rivals from 1961. Each is a hardtop, each has space for two adults and two children – and each represents a very different proposition to BMC’s ‘cars for real enthusiasts’.

Auto Union 1000S Coupe

The 1000S was somewhat of a Q-car with distinctive bodywork that dated back to 1953 and a three-cylinder two-stroke 981cc engine driving the front wheels. The Auto Union was spacious, offbeat and many owners raved about its road manners. The great motoring writer Bill Boddy thought the 1000S was ‘not everyone’s ideal, but it is a car which offers considerable individuality and a good performance from a very smooth-running engine’. However, a £1,259 2s 6d price tag was almost double the £679 7s 3d cost of a Mini Cooper.

BMW 700 Sport Coupe

When BMW launched the 700 Coupe at the 1959 Frankfurt Motor Show, they received over 25,000 orders. Alas, import duties meant that most British enthusiasts were denied the pleasures of a small car with rack & pinion steering and Michelotti’s styling.  By July 1960, the range included the extremely entertaining Sport Coupe with an uprated 697cc engine, twin Solex carburettors and an anti-roll bar. Autocar thought it possessed ‘many endearing features’ such as ‘economy, compactness, superb handling and road holding, and a willing engine that endows it with a lively performance’. But at £1,039 14s 11d, the “Poor Man’s Porsche’” was rarely seen in this country.

Ford Anglia 105E “Allardette”

In 1961 there were press reports of Sydney Allard arriving in the final stages of the RAC Rally in a prototype tuned Anglia which he planned to sell at £760 as a Mini Cooper rival. The Allard Company of London became main agents for the Shorrock Supercharger after they ceased building cars in 1957; their advertisements urged 105E owners to call MACaulay 3201 for details of how to achieve ‘sparkling performance in top’. The next logical development was the company’s “Allardette” – in which Mr. S Allard earned a class victory in the 1963 Monte Carlo Rally.

Renault Dauphine Gordini

The Dauphine was a familiar sight in the early 1960s - until 1961 Renault assembled the UK-market versions at their Acton plant. British motorists were first offered the Gordini in 1959; ‘the car for those who like their motoring lively’. Compared with the standard model, the Gordini boasted a four-speed gearbox and a modified engine with different inlet and exhaust manifolds, and a Solex carburettor. The top speed was a shade under 78 mph, and £797 10s 5d was not extravagant for a car with four doors, an automatic choke and reclining front seats.  ‘A neat and practical machine, well-finished and of proved worth in world markets’ was the opinion of Autocar.

Saab 96

The first Saab officially sold in the UK and, as with Auto Union, the 96 was FWD with a three-cylinder two-stroke engine. At £885 2s 2d it was an expensive prospect, but anyone who made the bold decision to ‘Go Swift, Go Safe, Go Saab’ seldom had any regrets. After all, this was the car that Erik Carlsson drove to victory in the 1960 and 1961 RAC Rallies – an achievement he was to repeat in 1962. The Motor found the Saab to be ‘a very sound and generally well-thought-out small car’. Motor Sport was even more impressed - ‘another individualistic machine the existence of which makes the world a more amusing place in which to dwell’.

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Here at Lancaster, we love classic cars as much as you do and we understand what it takes to protect them for future generations.

We have links with some of the top classic car clubs around the country and some of our policies even offer discounts of up to 25% for club members.

Other benefits of classic car insurance through Lancaster can include:

• Historic rally cover
• Static show cover
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