1966 Austin Cooper S

1966 Austin Cooper S

Registration: GRX 5D

It was, perhaps, inevitable that the mighty Mini, after years of running rings round the opposition, would have the opposition find – or should I say create – a reason to halt their dominance. It was our friends across the water, our French brethren, who would ultimately take umbrage at a third (!) victory on the Monto Carlo. And so was born one of the most infamous stories in the history of motorsport.

Launched in March 1963, the 1071cc Mini Cooper S was far more potent than the plain Cooper, the increased potential demonstrated by Rauno Aaltonen’s outright win on the 1963 Alpine Rally, followed by Paddy Hopkirk’s 1st place overall on the Monte Carlo, 3rd on the Tour de France and 4th on the RAC. The revised larger 1275cc model for 1964 continued the success, with Timo Makinen winning the 1964 Tulip Rally as soon as the model had been homologated. The triumphs continued, including Timo Makinen’s victory in atrocious weather on the 1965 Monte Carlo Rally and numerous other wins that year culminating in outright honours for Aaltonen on the RAC.

It was in January 1966 on the Monte Carlo, however, that this aforementioned winning streak would be halted. There was international furore when the three Works Mini’s, including GRX 5D with Hopkirk at the wheel, finished an impressive 1st, 2nd and 3rd, only to be disqualified on the highly spurious grounds of a dipped-headlight infringement (unsurprisingly to the benefit of the French and an embarrassed Citroen team who thought it all too ghastly).

And so began the competition career of GRX 5D, a Works Mini that became the most used of all of them, competing in no less than eleven International rallies over a 27 month period.

The full history is well documented in the all-encompassing book ‘Works Minis in Detail’ by Robert Young. We certainly can’t put together such a comprehensive or detailed history as Mr Young, so a complete extract of the GRX 5D history from the book can be found here: GRX 5D Work Minis in Detail by Robert Young

In short, the competition history of GRX is extensive and well known. Today, it is considered one of the most important of the surviving Works Minis, and is accompanied by a huge history file documenting much of its life. A letter on file from Robert Young in 2021 confirms it retains its factory bodyshell as fitted for the Shell 4000 event in 1968, as well as many other original factory components. A guaranteed invite at the best events, this is unquestionably a jewel in the history of British rally history.

Competition History

January 1966 Monte Carlo Rally (1275cc) Paddy Hopkirk / Henry Liddon – 3rd, but disqualified.

February 1966 Rally of the Flowers (1275cc) A Fall / H Liddon, Disqualified

April 1966 Tulip Rally (1275cc) T. Makinen / P. Easter – 9th overall, 1st class

(Manufacturers Team Prize with R. Freeborough)

November 1966

RAC Rally (1275cc) T. Makinen / P. Easter – retired

March 1967

Circuit of Ireland (1275cc) P. Hopkirk / T. Harryman – 1st overall, 1st class

April 1967

Tulip Rally (1275cc) D. Benzimra / T. Harryman – retired

June 1967

Scottish Rally (1275cc) A. Fall / M. Wood – retired

June 1967

Gulf London Rally (1275cc) A. Fall / M. Wood – retired

August 1967

Marathon de la Route (970cc) A. Fall / J. Vernaeve / A. Hedges – 2nd o/a

November 1967

Tour de Corse (1275cc) P. Hopkirk / R. Crellin – retired

April 1968

Canadian Shell 4000 Rally (1275cc) P. Hopkirk / M. Kerry – dsq