BMC made headlines in 1959 with the very first Mini, and BMW did it again in 2001 when the first generation of its Mini hatchback hit the market. And while for some the original Mini will always tug harder on the heart strings than its 21st-century iteration, the fact that the earliest BMW Minis are now more than 20 years old mean it’s an up-and-coming classic in its own right.
It’s also, importantly, a hoot to drive. Much of the work for the R50-generation Mini was undertaken by engineers at Rover, and they did a cracking job. Compact and agile, it has more than a hint of that old-Mini handling, as well as direct steering and even a slightly unsophisticated but still willing engine, just like an old A-series Mini.
And as Henry Catchpole from Carfection points out, when driving the Cooper during the making of the 2022 Hagerty Bull Market List, if you want an R50 Mini, then the most sought-after are those with a Y registration ending in “OBL”. It makes them some of the earliest cars registered by BMW itself, built prior to the official start of production in April 2001. Some were even built in 2000.
But any R50 will be fun to drive, and best of all it’s one of the most affordable cars in this year’s Bull Market. Supply is plentiful, and the driving experience is familiar enough not to scare you off if you’ve only ever driven modern cars. Your eBay watch list will be full of them by the time you’ve finished the video…
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