As Mini USA Product Manager Kevin Philips puts it, “Forty years ago a British icon was making its mark on racing history. A small David with a white roof showed its tailpipe to all those ultra-powerful Goliaths as it clinched overall victory in the Rally Monte Carlo and in this big bang a tiny little vehicle became a legend. The Giant Killer was the Mini Cooper S.”

It may not have been what Sir Alec had in mind, but 40 years ago an Irishman named Patrick "Paddy" Hopkirk propelled the Mini Cooper S through the twists and turns of the Alps into the record books. For in 1964 Paddy and the Mini took home the trophy for winning the Monte Carlo Rally, one of the world's greatest races.

The Monte Carlo Rally

Starting from different parts of Europe, and all converging on the principality of Monaco in the riviera sunshine, the Monte Carlo Rally is an automobile racing event organized each year by the Automobile Club de Monaco, the same group who organizes the F1 Grand Prix of Monaco and the Monaco Kart Cup.

Since its inception in 1911 by Prince Albert I, the rally, under difficult and demanding conditions, was an important means of testing the latest improvements and innovations to automobiles. Winning the race gave the car a great deal of credibility and publicity. Since 1973, the race has been held in January as the first race of the F ration Internationale de l'Automobile World Rally Championship, run over a 1,461 kilometer course in 15 different stages.

MINI and the Rally

The date was January 17th, 1964 and the Monte Carlo Rally was becoming more challenging than ever with the entry of well-organized factory teams. Competition for the Mini was stiff with bigger, more powerful cars from Ford, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo to Citroen, Saab and other pedigree challengers.

Paddy Hopkirk in 1964 with winning car 37

Piloted by fearless rally driver Paddy Hopkirk and his skilled navigator, Henry Liddon, the pint-sized Mini overcame great odds in all sorts of challenging conditions. Ice, twisty mountain passes, darkness and above all, formidable challengers, made for an exciting, flat-out drive for the team. On snowy sections of the route, the Mini's nimble handling and front-wheel-drive proved advantageous over the more powerful, albeit heavier, larger rear-wheel-drive competition. In the final moments of the rally on the Grand Prix circuit, Paddy and the pint-sized Mini were tenacious, pulling a victory over the second place contender by little more than 30 points.

It certainly was the sensation in the rally season that year: A small red David with a white roof proudly showed its tailpipe to all those ultra-powerful Goliaths, clinching overall victory in the Monte Carlo Rally. And in this "big bang", the tiny little car immediately became a legend.

Originally conceived as an inexpensive and economical means of transportation, the Mini had been transformed into the hot-blooded Mini Cooper and Mini Cooper S thanks to the legendary John Cooper of Formula 1 fame. John recognized the Mini's excellent attributes as a quick and nimble performer with great potential on the motorsport circuits. The Mini Cooper and Mini Cooper S clearly stood out as the "every man's sports car".

Wherever the Mini - either in standard trim or in highly modified form - appeared at the start of a race, it was always good for a genuine surprise. Indeed, the Mini wrote many a headline in the world of rally racing, just like it made things more than difficult for the usual "tough guys" on race circuits the world over. There was truly no other car in the market able to offer the same kind of sporting performance for so little money and providing outstanding driving pleasure within such compact dimensions.

Forty years on nothing has changed: The features which once took the classic Mini to victory in that historic race to Monaco remain the basic ingredients of the MINI today. With its compact exterior dimensions, the new MINI simply whisks around corners, resting solidly on its wide track and long wheelbase. In particular, however, every driver given the opportunity to take the wheel of a MINI will feel immediately why entering the Monte Carlo Rally would indeed be a wonderful experience. Both generations of MINI clearly stand out from all other cars in precisely the same way. They are extremely agile and posses go-kart-like reflexes.

A Salute to History

It was 23 January 1964 when Mini driver Patrick Hopkirk, a young Northern Irishman from Belfast, and his navigator, Henry Liddon, piloted a Mini Cooper S, (Car No. 37, registration 33 EJB) to victory in the 1964 Monte Carlo Rally race against bigger, more powerful cars. They were up against V8-powered Ford Falcons, the Mercedes-Benz 300 SE, a Volvo 544, Saab 96's, as well as a number of fine-handling Citroëns.

Timo Makinen in car GRX 555D in 1966

Starting from the Russian city of Minsk, the duo navigated through ice, twisty mountain passes and darkness. Paddy, a jovial Irishman, was an aggressive driver, and he drove his tiny car hunched over the wheel. Hopkirk credited the Mini’s front-wheel drive and small size for the victory. “The fact that the snowplow had been on the roads, they were very narrow so it suited a small car,” Hopkirk said. “We were also well prepared; it was a very ... grounded car.”

After his victory, Hopkirk was feted in the newspapers as a hero. His fame was such that he was invited on the country's biggest television programme, Sunday Night at the Palladium, and he got to meet the Beatles.

The following year, the Mini grabbed top honors again, this time piloted by Timo Makinen from Finland, with one of the greatest drives ever. He was the only non-penalized car in the whole event. He never arrived late to a time control or put a wheel wrong in over 3,000 miles of competition.

In January 1966 with Paddy Hopkirk in Mini plate number 'GRX5D', Rauno Aaltonen in 'GRX55D' and Timo Makinen in 'GRX555D', the team set out for Monte Carlo, confident of another victory. All the cars were Mini Cooper 1275cc S models, built to comply with Group One racing regulations.

French officials inspecting the Mini

Like the previous two years, the Minis could not be caught and they quickly showed their supremacy. Just before the final section of the rally, an odd notice appeared at rally HQ stating that all competing cars had to be fitted with both a driving beam and a passing beam. The French officials could not believe the Minis were dominating their race and so they set about scrutinizing the three cars in a desperate attempt to find an irregularity. Eight hours later, the Minis were disqualified because of their headlamps!

The Mini’s were back in 1967, headlights in order, and they won again, this time with the team of Rauno Aaltonen and Henry Liddon.

The legend of the Mini as a giant-killer racer was assured.

MINI Rally Cars click for a larger image

"The 1964 Monte Carlo victory was the event that put MINI on the map to become a lasting motoring icon", stated Jack Pitney, Vice President, MINI USA.