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Vortz Racing Cars


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#1 mab01uk

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Posted 22 July 2014 - 11:48 PM

VORTZ RACING CARS founded 1965 with over 20 years of Mini production.

Lots of photos of these amazing quality built cars here, many were exported to Japan long before Rover realised there was a demand for a new Cooper but then gave Vortz no credit for creating that demand in the first place..........if only the later Rover Coopers had been as good the Nick Vortz modern Coopers built in the 1980's?

https://www.facebook...7259?fref=photo

 

Read his interesting book the 'The Wild Card' for the full story of what actually happened in the dispute between Vortz, Rover and John Cooper before the re-launch of the 1990's Rover Cooper:-

https://www.somerfor...oducts_id=15514

 

Under the bonnet of a Vortz Formula R Mini

VortzDowntonR_zps7b635ade.jpg

 

Probably the first road going Mini with 13" wheels and modern 175 low profile tyres seen on the Vortz stand at the Beaulieu Cooper day in the 1980's.

vortz-13_zpsb1853813.jpg


Edited by mab01uk, 23 July 2014 - 06:43 AM.


#2 mab01uk

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Posted 23 July 2014 - 11:32 PM

More Vortz Formula R pics from Japan:

http://www3.wind.ne....vortz/vortz.htm

 

Sections scanned from Paul Huxford's Vortz 'Cooper Car Company' brochure.

 

hv55vk_zps90579059.jpg

 

2qtuxbt_zps4de73e2e.jpg


Edited by mab01uk, 23 July 2014 - 11:36 PM.


#3 jaydee

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Posted 24 July 2014 - 11:47 AM

COOPER MIGLIA 1986 – 1989
 
Vortz’s little flyer. The Miglia was built with 998cc and the faster overbore 1030cc engines. 
These cars have been a little over shadowed by there bigger faster brethren, there are very few photos ether, 
which is a shame, as they were fabulous to drive, a completely different experience to the BMC Cooper 1000, 
they produced a superb upward power line that had a kind of audible zing as it eagerly stretched to 7000 rpm through the gears, 
and once there you could back off and the little Miglia would just roll on relentlessly with the smallest of throttle opening 
which made for a super relaxed little tourer. 
Although there technical spec was pure Nick Vortz, they were in a sense the model that ‘represented’ the BMC Mini Cooper 1000 in the Vortz line up. 
From the outset it was going to be far more in terms of technical merit than the BMC Cooper 1000, 
and Nick put a lot of hours in to this little power unit to achieve exactly that. 
The first was the head which remained the CAM4180 for the 998, and 12G202 for the 1030, 
and not the 12G295 with its overly large 28.3cc combustion chambers and also it’s oversized inlet ports 
which would have had to a slow a gas speed that was needed for the lower down power delivery. 
He developed the progressive valve deshroud chamber combined with his round exhaust port, 
valves were just basic BMC 1275 33x29mm that were going spare from the ‘R’s, but reshaped and thinned down. 
His head chamber design work was later adopted for the John Cooper 1000cc conversions.
The fuel delivery would be a pair of fully ported HS2’s on a Vortz 3 part inlet manifold 
topped off with a new design air box with integral bell mouths. 
For the camshaft he would design a completely new one to tie all this together, 
and that is what we now know as the R-664. 
To work well on a little 1000 Nick said on paper it looks to extreme for what went before, 
with the exhaust duration ending up at a full 9 degrees longer than the inlet, (18/58in 59/30ex). 
He said as with us all he started with what he knew and pushed and pulled the curves to what was needed to make the complete package, 
every time he drew up a new profile believing he couldn’t extend there or push it that far, 
it just got absorbed into his initial combustion package, every time it lost nothing and gave a little more. 
Obviously he over done it in various places and had to rain back, but Nick never believes he’s reached his ultimate criteria 
in this case a dynamo of a road 1000, not ultimate horsepower producer, until he has seen the development run over the edge. 
He just keeps burning the hours (and money) until he gets to where he has seen anymore is just backwards.
To extract and exit the spent waste a Vortz long stand off small bore LCB coupled to a Vortz R-454 with a built in back pressure system was fitted.
This little lot amounted to a car that could potter around town as low as 1000rpm in top but could happily cruse at 90mph, 
which they did on many occasions up the M4 for a 54 mile stretch when visiting the Vortz trim factory in South Wales. 
And when tested by Fast Car Magazine, they found it exceeded 100mph on any given straight when ever they desired. 
This was a very happy little package, like an annoying little terrier embarrassingly chewing at the heels of its bigger brothers. 
Where are they now, the engine production number was 73 units which would have been cars of a type, 
there are 38 registered chassis numbers which were directly registered as Cooper Car Co 84ltd alone. 
There must be at least 30 or more left surely, the first ones would be some 26 years old now but they weren’t just run of the mill Mini’s. 
 
Thanks to Richard for writing about this very special car.


#4 mab01uk

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Posted 31 July 2015 - 07:22 AM

VORTZ COOPER MIGLIA 1000cc

http://www.barons-au...ils.php?ID=6833



#5 mab01uk

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Posted 22 September 2015 - 10:34 PM

Vortz Racing CR wheel castings

This auction is for 35 genuine VORTZ RACING CARS 'none machined' 4.75x10 original wheel castings. These were the last ones cast from the original 1967 Nick Vortz made die.

http://www.ebay.co.u...=item419cf2f9b9



#6 mab01uk

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Posted 03 September 2016 - 02:21 PM

Found this photo I took of probably one of the first road going Mini's (brand new on trade plates) fitted with 13" wheels and modern 175/50 low profile Pirelli P7 tyres as seen on the Vortz 'Cooper Car Company' stand at the Beaulieu Cooper Day in the late 1980's/early 90's. I went straight home and bought a set but have long since gone back to 10's....

Vortz%20Mini-13inch_zpsgar7nzgl.jpg


Edited by mab01uk, 03 September 2016 - 02:48 PM.


#7 mab01uk

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Posted 03 September 2016 - 02:41 PM

They soon started to appear on the early Rover Coopers and even a few Mk1's......

Mk1-13inch-1_zps5cbcmes2.jpg

Mk1-13-inch-2_zps79sfq3ab.jpg

Rover-13inch-1_zpsp34afscz.jpg

Rover-13inch-2_zpszcz5ghl6.jpg



#8 mab01uk

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Posted 29 March 2017 - 10:19 PM

1989 Beaulieu (Photos: Kees)
Fortz2_zpsghwiubek.jpg

JC%20-%20Vortz_zpsqmaakn6t.jpg

I wonder what John Cooper is saying and thinking in these photos..Nick (Vortz) is in the armless sweatshirt.......based on what is reported to have happened soon after in the interesting book 'The Wild Card' which has the full story of what actually happened in the dispute between Vortz, Rover and John Cooper before the re-launch of the 'official' 1990's Rover Cooper:-
https://www.somerfor...oducts_id=15514


Edited by mab01uk, 02 April 2017 - 08:51 AM.


#9 mab01uk

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Posted 01 July 2021 - 09:14 AM

1977 Vortz Mini Miglia - £31,995

https://sherwoodrest...ts-mini-cooper/


Edited by mab01uk, 01 July 2021 - 09:15 AM.


#10 mab01uk

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Posted 09 November 2023 - 10:33 PM

1980 Vortz Formula ‘R’ Mini Cooper

Auction Start Price £20,000

  • Chassis No.1
  • Un-registered
  • 976 miles
  • 1293cc big bore engine
  • Almond Green/Old English White
  • Magazine featured - Read what the experts have to say about Car Number 1 in the latest issue of Mini World
  • On Display at the NEC 10th – 12th November

Jaw dropping. Chassis #1. Yes, the very first Mini ‘Cooper’ Formula ‘R’ built by the legendary Nick Vrotsos, owner of Vortz Racing. Never registered. A truly unique classic. The saying goes: ‘try and find another’. Don’t bother. There isn’t one.

https://www.evoke-cl...age=1&limit=100


Edited by mab01uk, 09 November 2023 - 10:34 PM.


#11 bpirie1000

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Posted 10 November 2023 - 07:18 AM

Lovely looking minis in the car park there...

Miss the days of a field full of minis..

All different and unique, never 2 the same...




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