1977 | Mini 1100 Special

Compact Champion – the Mini 1100 Monte Carlo 1977 Special Edition

When the Suez crisis broke out in 1956, petrol became scarce in Great Britain. The British Motor Corporation needed a new small car that was also affordable for the growing middle class. Engineer Alec Issigonis was given free rein. He pulled the axles as far apart as possible, installed the engine transversely and the gearbox directly underneath. The result was a miracle in terms of space: a car just three metres long accommodating four adults. The doors had wide pockets for bottles of milk or beer, Issigonis's design having veered away from wind-up windows. The Mini was actually meant to be fun to drive, and that's precisely what it was: the steering was as direct as on a go-kart, and the roadholding uncompromising (as was the suspension). Encouraged by the small wheels positioned at the corners and the hard springs.

Formula 1 racing car manufacturer John Cooper added extra glamour, tuning the engine and retrofitting disc brakes. The Mini Cooper won the Monte Carlo Rally three times in the 1960s. Its dominance was so strong that the race commissioners tried to prevent it from winning under hair-raising pretexts. At the Tulip Rally in the Netherlands, Englishman Tony Fall was disqualified because of a missing air filter element. He had previously successfully asked for permission to remove the paper filter.

The smallest becomes the biggest; the biggest often becomes the fastest. If the Mini is one thing, it's unconventional. In a time of social upheaval, it's a car that women and men of all classes can identify with. The model is so popular that it even outlived its successor, the Mini Metro, and was manufactured right up to 2000 – a total of 5.3 million times.

This Mini is a tribute to the winning car of the 1964 Monte Carlo Rally, unmistakably and very expertly recreated. The car passed into the current owner's hands in 2020. In 2023, the Mini competed in the Coupe des Alpes rally. The car is also equipped with a mileage counter. Other rally drivers at the time suggested this compact competitor really put the pressure on its stronger rivals, especially on the tight hairpin bends. That's exactly what this 1100 Mini Special Edition was designed for. It's the ultimate head-turner and spreads joy wherever it goes. Driving pleasure guaranteed.