35 replies to this topic

[mattkjsmith]

Hi, as the title says really, what does the 'S' in Cooper S stand for? I thought it was sport, but my mate seems to think its supercharged but I didn't think there were any factory fitted supercharged A series engine?

Help me prove him wrong lol

Thanks

MS.

[adam_93rio]

sure hes not thinking about new minis?

they didnt make a cooper s that was supercharged with the a series engine, closest youll get is a turbo, the era one

[mattkjsmith]

Cheers, nope he definately meant the classic mini's! I was sure they didn't make one but he wouldn't believe me lol. Does the 's' stand for sport then?

MS.

[adam_93rio]

probably...

[minisam92]

i think the s stands for sport

[Cooperman]

A bit of history then:

The Cooper 'S' was introduced in 1963 following the success of the 997 Mini Cooper in competition. It was produced for motor Sport, hence the 'S' and the original was 1071 cc to keep within the then up-to-1200 cc class structure. Originally it was intended to produce only the minimum number for homologation for competition, but such was the demand that it was produced in larger numbers. When the capacity classed were changed to 'up to 1000 cc and 'up to 1300 cc', the 970 cc and 1275 cc versions were introduced in 1964 and the 1071 cc dropped. The 970 Cooper 'S' was a real class-winner and the 1275 went on to get outright wins, even against much larger engined cars in both rallies and races. The 970 was not made in quantity as it was not so popular as a road car, but the 1275 Cooper 'S' went on until 1971, although it was outclassed in competition at international level by then.
It was never supercharged as a production car and even if supercharged for competition it would probably not have been very competitive as it would have been in the up-to-2000 cc class and would have had difficulty putting the bpower onto the road with the tyres then available.

I hope that you find this of interest.

[Dan]

Nope, according to the late John Cooper, the S doesn't stand for anything at all. They needed a name to denote it as being different from the regular Cooper and he just liked the sound of Cooper S. It doesn't actually have any meaning.

[olds_kool_lews]

i actually read a book the other day that tells you this information! its either sport or special... ill find the book!

[RsSpyder]

It is Sport. Hence the late Rover Mini Cooper Sport, also referred to as Cooper S.

It isn't supercharged as BMW still call the latest one Cooper S when its turbocharged.

[Shep76S]

This is one of the things that irritates me most, people who insist they have an S because they have a sports pack. This is incorrect. The only car badged S during the Sportpack era was one from John Cooper Garages (or selected Rover dealers) which has had their tuning packs fitted. (and they didn't all have Sportpacks)

It is Sport. Hence the late Rover Mini Cooper Sport, also referred to as Cooper S.

It isn't supercharged as BMW still call the latest one Cooper S when its turbocharged.

[mab01uk]

Nope, according to the late John Cooper, the S doesn't stand for anything at all. They needed a name to denote it as being different from the regular Cooper and he just liked the sound of Cooper S. It doesn't actually have any meaning.

I also believe this to be the true story as heard from John Cooper...............unfortunately many books/internet sites are badly researched and copy previous errors or just make things up to fill the space!

[longtimenomini]

its all been said

however, dont forget there was a 'factory...kind of' supercharged mini

BAC M-30

nothing to do with the letter S tho

http://www.aronline....ado15tunedf.htm

[Cooperman]

I don't want to be controversial (any more than usual), but as someone who was actually competing in Mini Coopers in 1963, I can assure you that the 'S' was introduced by BMC to denote that the car was intended for entry in motor sport and that the 'S' was for 'Sport'. I don't think John Cooper did the homologation engineering for the Cooper 'S' as the specification was evolved from the specific requirements of the BMC Comps Dep't at Abingdon and engineered by mainstream design at Longbridge. Of course, John may have had an input, but Daniel Richmond would have had more input as he was the engine specialist consultant.
Back in '63 everyone involved in motor sport considered the 'S' was for 'Sport' or, maybe, 'Sports', which is why the car was introduced.

[mininuts]

Nope, according to the late John Cooper, the S doesn't stand for anything at all. They needed a name to denote it as being different from the regular Cooper and he just liked the sound of Cooper S. It doesn't actually have any meaning.

I'm with Dan and mab01uk on this, although I also seem to remember reading in a book or something that the 'S' could have refered to 'Special'

[Cooperman]

Just been checking the info I gave for accuracy.
In Chris Harvey's book 'Mighty Minis', in the chapter entitled 'The Mini-Cooper 'S'', he attributes the engineering of the 'S' engine to the late Daniel Richmond and on Page 48 says, referring to the 1963 Cooper 'S': "This would be the first engine option introduced on the new S-for-Sport Minis." The Comps Dep't would have specified what the rest of the mechanical changes requiring homologation for competition should be, such as a 4.5" wheel width option, diff ratio options, etc.
John Cooper's involvement was mainly to receive £2 per car for the on-going use of his name. The vehicle name would have been applied by BMC's Marketing Department. No-way would an outside consultant have been allowed to name a production vehicle.
As I said, at the time the 'S' was introduced all of us involved in motor sport at the time considered that 'S' stood for 'Sport'.
In fact, when Rootes introduced the quicker Imp in 1966, it was called the 'Imp Sport'which continued the idea of adding an 'S' to denote the sporting version (e.g., Fiesta 'Si', Nova 'SR', VW 1300S, and so on).