Description
2001 Rover Mini Cooper Sport 500
Rover launched the Cooper Sport 500 at the very end of the classic Mini production with only 500 produced. This car is number 48, confirmed by the Rover Mini Cooper Sport 500 register. They were all supplied with a certificate, gift pack, and plaque in the glovebox. This car has all three.
The car comes with an incredibly special story. It was purchased via the Rover employee car purchase plan by the one and only owner before me, an employee who worked on the production line who built his own car! All documentation present to confirm this.
If you had not spotted it already, the number plate is also very cool. Y899 AOK, being special as the first ever mini produced was 621 AOK!
During Covid, it had a restoration carried out and was resprayed. There are photos on a USB stick that were taken during the restoration. The body work is lovely, as you can see from the photos.
Two sets of working keys are present, along with the handbooks and a folder of paperwork. The service history is as follows:
28/ 09/ 2001 at 702 miles.
03/ 04/ 2002 at 1927 miles.
03/ 07/ 2002 at 2626 miles.
01/ 07/ 2003 at 9298 miles.
04/ 07/ 2004 at 17519 miles.
27/ 06/ 2005 at 25621 miles.
15/ 06/ 2006 at 31795 miles.
02/ 07/ 2007 at 38109 miles.
01/ 07/ 2008 at 45471 miles.
09/ 04/ 2009 at 51445 miles.
13/ 06/ 2011 at 56723 miles.
12/ 07/ 2013 at 62716 miles.
14/ 07/ 2014 at 65973 miles.
14/ 07/ 2015 at 69990 miles.
13/ 07/ 2016 at 75026 miles.
15/ 07/ 2017 at 78353 miles.
18/ 07/ 2018 at 81264 miles.
23/ 01/ 2020 at 84927 miles.
08/ 04/ 2021 at 85382 miles.
31/ 05/ 2022 at 85530 miles.
25/ 05/ 2023 at 85810 miles.
29/ 05/ 2024 at 86166 miles.
09/ 06/ 2025 at 86373 miles.
05/ 05/ 2026 at 86561 miles.
The car is currently sat at 86951 miles, having gone to the Beaulieu Mini show this year and a recent trip to the New Forest. The mileage climbed steadily in it’s early years as the original owner used it as a daily driver, meaning it got to return to it’s birthplace at Longbridge many times!
It is the full sport spec. Black leather with Platinum silver inserts, Aluminium 6 clock dashboard with magnolia dials, alloy door furniture and 4 front spots. It still has it’s original cassette radio that is in full working order, now wired into an upgraded set of Blaupunkt shelf speakers. Being an MPI, it simply means turn the key and go! The exhaust has a lovely burble, it is not stupidly loud. It also has the roof rack, currently fitted to make storage easy. It includes the netting, stored in the boot of the car.
With it being a 25 year old car that has covered 86000 miles, it is not perfect. I will be as honest as I can be with limited knowledge, you are welcome to view and inspect. The driver’s seat rubber membrane needs replacing, currently not available. Mini spares are expecting stock in December, though this was originally September. The alignment could do with doing, it feels off. The gearbox has the quite common whine when pulling away in 1st gear but does not affect the driveability of the car. It will need sorting in time. The brakes feel slightly imbalanced. The most costly part of owning a classic car has been done, the body and paintwork restoration.
It’s MOT is valid until 28th April 2027. There were some advisories, most have been taken care of. New front suspension cones and shocks were fitted, and the sump plug washer was renewed during the service. It does have the standard dampness around the gear selector.
There are many photos available of the car, I have uploaded what I can to try and cover everything including a couple of shots of the underside and one from the restoration.
It has been priced very fairly, taking into account what else is available on the market and it’s current condition. It would be up for more if it was perfect! If you have any other questions or would like to view the car, please feel free to get in touch. I will only entertain serious enquires and allow test drives if funds can be proved to be in the bank.
