The Mini Cooper Register was founded in 1986 in the United Kingdom as a car club for owners and enthusiasts of any kind of Mini or Mini-based car. Supported are all types of Minis, ranging from the earliest models by BMC to the latest models produced by BMW. Focus areas include
- Sharing the rich history of the Mini, including race and rally successes to being the car of choice for many of the 1960s trendsetters,
- Maintaining an archive of historical documents related to the Mini,
- Maintaining a number of registers dedicated to specific models,
- A thriving network of active regions around the world, and
- Promoting the Mini and stimulating its vivid community in general.
At this moment, there are 17 registers, one covering each Cooper and Cooper S variant of the Mini, while the Mini Super, 1275GT, and Non-Cooper registers as well as the Appendix K, Coachbuilt, Ex-Police and Ex-Works & Competition Car registers cater for other cross-sections of Mini types.
The Mini Cooper Register organizes some major events including the annual (Inter-)National Mini Day in Beaulieu (UK) early June and the ‘Minis to…’ tours, which often follow original routes of 1960’s rally stages. The Mini Cooper Register is a recognised sports car club which enables to support competition in all forms of motor sport, while being a DVLA-approved club allows assistance with resolving UK registration (V5) issues. The Mini Cooper Register is also member of the FIVA-representative in the UK.
While active on social media, the premier publication of the Mini Cooper Register to its members is a monthly magazine called CooperWorld, which is a 60+ page professional glossy containing unique and novel articles keeping members up-to-date on events (including competition in rallies and races), details that enable perfection for restoration projects, member’s articles, and updates from the various registers and regional communities.
The Mini Cooper Register is proud to have had John Cooper as our Honorary President until his death in 2000. His son, Michael is now Honorary President. The Mini Cooper Register is also pleased to have several Mini-VIPs as Honorary Members. Paddy Hopkirk was a prominent Honorary Member until his death in 2022. Current Honorary Members include Rauno Aaltonen, Warwick Banks, Paul Easter, Bill Richards, John Rhodes, Frank Stephenson, Nick Swift, Stuart Turner, Lady Watson (Christabel Carlisle), Mike Wood.