Hopkirk s heroic Monte Carlo victory marked with special edition Paddy Hopkirk with the new Mini limited edition model named after him and his 1964 rally car
DESPITE steering a Mini to its most celebrated motorsport win - the 1964 Monte Carlo Rally - it has taken more than half a century for the great Irish driver Paddy Hopkirk s name to be immortalised on one of the cars.
Today s Mini is obviously a very different - and larger - proposition than the 1959 original, but it retains its focus on fun and agility to stay true to the Mini go-kart spirit.
The 1964 Monte win, in which Hopkirk and his co-driver Henry Liddon won against a variety of more powerful and more fancied rivals, remains a classic giant-slaying motorsport tale, and helped cement the Mini s legend.
Mini delivers Paddy Hopkirk Edition car the man it was named after autoblog.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from autoblog.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Just a few months ago we reported on a special edition MINI named after the one and only Paddy Hopkirk, the man who drove the original Mini to victory in numerous rally events. As you would expect, the Northern Ireland pilot also got one and the video below shares the moment he takes delivery of the car, a special MINI Paddy Hopkirk Limited Edition.
The car itself was launched to mark the anniversary of his inaugural win at the 1964 Monte Carlo Rally in a classic Morris Mini Cooper S Mk1. The Paddy Hopkirk Limited Edition is based on the MINI Cooper S 3-Door Hatch and available with automatic or manual transmission. The engine delivers 178 HP and 280 Nm torque, reaching 0-62mph in just 6.7 seconds and 0.1 seconds slower if we’re talking about a manual gearbox.
Little did the classic Morris Mini Cooper S Mk1 know that its triumph at the 1964 Monte Carlo Rally would result in a limited edition car being built in its honor more than half a century later.
The 2021 MINI Hopkirk Edition was unveiled back in September and is based on the Cooper S hardtop two-door model. It boasts exclusive exterior paint, to go with the #37 on the doors, a ‘Paddy Hopkirk Monte Carlo’ inscription and a white hood stripe.
It is available with both an automatic and a manual transmission, with the engine delivering 178 HP and 280 Nm (206 lb-ft) of torque. In a straight line, it can hit 62 mph (100 km/h) in 6.7 seconds with the automatic, or 6.8 seconds if you’re operating the manual gearbox.