Description
2002 MINI Cooper S John Cooper Works - Works car number 4, and the original John Cooper Garages press Car.
This is a historically significant New MINI, probably one of the most significant in the country.
Built new on the 18th December 2002, it was supplied by Chandlers to John Cooper Garages, where it was fitted with the 200BHP John Cooper Works Tuning Kit, number 4. The engine bares the plaque with kit number S4.
The car was originally registered as SW02 RKS, and was used as their press demonstrator, appearing in magazines such as Evo and the like. The cars most famous appearance though was in November 2003 when it appeared on Series 3 (Episode 4) of TopGear TV, driven by Richard Hammond. By this time the car had gone back to an age-related plate HN52 TEJ which is still wears today.
The car is still featured in a photo on the Mini. co. uk website on the 'History of MINI' page.
The car has fantastic provenance, and is well known by people with John Cooper Garages circles, such as Tony Franks, Chris Dawson, and even Mike Cooper himself. I still have it serviced by Tony Franks in Shoreham-By-Sea.
So, a bit more about the car...
It's a 2002 MINI Cooper S in Pure Silver
200BHP Works Tuning Kit
R90 BBS Alloys with Michelin PS4S tyres
Aerodynamic Body Kit
Factory Panoramic Sunroof
Full Leather Interior
Multi-Function Steering Wheel with Cruise Control
Manual Air-Conditioning
I bought the car in March 2021 and whilst it was straight and solid it was looking a little unloved, it had been fitted with standard Halogen non-Xenon headlamps for instance. This sparked some sympathetic works to put things back to how they should be, not making it a concours car, just having the correct parts fitted, as it was 23 years ago. So I sourced new old-stock Xenon headlights which all work with their washers, an original Boost CD unit, new door cards and other trims, new exterior trims and grilles etc etc etc.
Bodywork wise it presents very well, and it's very bright. There are some age related marks, and stone chips to the front end, but I've left it like that to preserve its original paint. There are none of the usual R53 rust spots around the tail lights or boot handle.
The car drives really well, and pulls like an absolute train.
This is a very reluctant sale... I'm now a resident of Portugal and will be looking to spend more time there, as such, my cars will not get used like they should be. This MINI deserves to be at MINI shows across the across the country, not locked up in my garage.
So there we go... one of the most historically significant New MINIs that there are.
The photos are of the car doing what it does best at my Minis at Goodwood event, I will take some more specific photos this weekend.
