Nice but ....

The woman who sold me my new Mini looked like she should still be at school to me. So I wasn't that surprised when she looked nonplussed at my reply to her question about the colour I wanted for the car. "Coopers have to be red with a white roof." "You know, Monte Carlo Rally, 1964?". Blanker than something blank.

Anyway yesterday after overcoming a series of hurdles I finally took delivery. It seems like a nice competent motor car after our first 100kms together but it hasn't got the soul of the MG. Then again, back in 1964 I suppose those three red and white Minis, destined to become legend - 33 EJB driven by Paddy Hopkirk, Rauno Aaltonen's LBL 6D and Timo Makinen's AJB 44B - were just everyday cars too.

The photo shows the MG, the Mini, Maggie, Harold and Eduardo in Culebrón. And number 37 is the Hopkirk/Liddon car.

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