Mini Cooper designer dies

The mini has assumed many guises over the years

LONDON, England (AP) -- The man responsible for one of the world's best-loved small cars, the Mini Cooper, has died.

John Cooper, whose contributions to motor sports also included the rear-engine Formula One racer, died on Sunday, aged 77.

Cooper got an early start in the racing business as the son of designer and driver Charles Cooper.

Father and son founded the Cooper Car Company in 1946 and established themselves as racing specialists out of a small British Motor Corporation garage.

The duo found success in Formula Three in the early 1950s by constructing a car with the engine placed behind the driver, an unorthodox concept at the time.

Doubts that the layout could work with larger cars were put to rest in 1958 when Stirling Moss piloted a Cooper to victory in the Grand Prix of Argentina -- the first World Championship win for a rear-engine car.

Cooper cars went on to win the Formula One constructors' title in 1959 and 1960, with Australian Jack Brabham taking the drivers' championship for the team in both years. Within three years rear-mounted engines were the standard of the F1 field.

A new version of the mini will be released by BMW next year

Despite the glitz and glamour of Formula One, Cooper gained more fame by shaping one of Britain's most lovable and enduring cars, the Mini, into a ferocious racer.

First sold to the public in 1961, the Mini Cooper was a giant success in saloon and rally classes. It was the first British car to win the European Rally Championship and took the checkered flag at the Monte Carlo Rally three times.

The Mini Cooper quickly became a cult car and enjoyed a decades-long production run.

Celebrity owners included Paul McCartney, John Lennon and Peter Sellers. Red, white and blue models memorably raced through Turin in the classic 1969 movie "The Italian Job," starring Michael Caine.

"He built rear-engine cars and made a great contribution to the sport of motor racing. He put England back on top," Moss said of Cooper.

"As a driver he was a very good amateur," Moss added. "John had technical expertise and he was a hands-on engineer. He was very proud of what he achieved with the Mini Cooper."

Cooper spent his final years in Worthing, southern England. He was awarded a CBE, or Commanders of the Order of the British Empire, last year for his services to the motor industry.

Copyright 2000 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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