irishcar.com

5 July 2002: The new MINI is just one year old on Sunday. In that time it seems to have won its way into the hearts of more people than expected in some 50 markets from Guadeloupe to the UK, and the oldest known owner is an 81-year-old woman in Japan.

In the year, the BMW-owned car picked up a number of awards, including the Auto Express Car of the Year, the Car of the Series award from the 'Driven' TV programme, and numerous ‘Best Car’ awards in newspapers and magazines.

MINI Cooper S became the third member of the MINI family when it went on sale in June 2002. A diesel version hits the streets next year using a 1.4-litre diesel engine sourced from Toyota. Production will be between 10 – 20,000 cars per year.

The John Cooper Challenge has tempted 25 MINI Cooper owners to compete in their own cars through a season of hill climbs, sprints and races. The flagship meeting takes place at Silverstone on 28 July.

Plant Oxford, the only home of the new MINI and the birthplace of the original Morris Mini Minor in 1959 is now producing 500 cars per day with around 4,500 workers employed by the factory. Further recent investment of £50 million will help to increase production at the plant.