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Category: Rover

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Mini Cooper Sport 500
In this article you will find Mini Cooper Sport 500 specification, chassis number, review, technical data, performance details, market price, certificate, photos, and everything you need to know about this limited edition classic Mini Cooper. There are only 500 Mini Cooper Sport 500 ever built and they are the last ever to Sir Alec Issigonis design.

Mini Cooper Sport 500 Specification

The Mini Cooper Sport 500 was released in 2000 as MK7 generation. It was after 41 remarkable years and 5,387,862 classic Mini produced. Therefore, Rover decided to end the classic Mini with a Special Edition called Mini Cooper Sport 500. It was the last 500 of Mini ever built and they were also the most sought after Mini models.

Mini Cooper Sport 500 uses a 1,275 cc engine producing 62 hp. Paired with a 4-speed manual powertrain, it is capable to accelerate from 0-60 mph in 11.8 seconds and 0-100 km/h in 12.6 seconds. The specification also states that it is capable to reach quarter mile from 0 in 18.4 seconds. Check out other specification of the Mini Cooper Sport 500 so that you can differentiate it from the 2000 Mini Cooper Sport (Non 500):

1. They were ONLY made in the sports pack version with Platinum Silver roofs and bonnet stripe.

2. On the glove box compartment, there is a dash plaque states “THIS MINI IS ONE OF THE LAST 500 BUILT TO THE ORIGINAL SIR ALEC ISSIGONIS DESIGN”.

3. The Cooper Sport 500 came in 4 colours and the unit made are:
- Tahiti Blue (JRJ – BLVC965) – 128 cars
- Anthracite (LQW – BLVC1266) – 108 cars
- Solar Red (CMU – BLVC1278) – 110 cars
- British Racing Green (HAF – BLVC617) – 154 cars
4. Owners who purchased the Cooper Sport 500 in 2000 received a gift bag full of many Mini accessories, for example, a Mini Cup, Mini T-shirts, and Mini fleece.

5. It also come with a certificate that states the car is a genuine 2000 Mini Cooper Sport 500. Most important, the certificate is signed by John Cooper and Kevin Howe (Ex-MG Rover CEO).

6. The rest are very standard like chrome bumpers and grille. As for the interior, it features black and silver leather and an alloy gear knob. Notice there is also a high level brake light in the rear window.

7. The exterior features four front spotlights, 13-inch sports pack wheel.

Mini Cooper Sport 500 Review

The Cooper Sport 500 has as much fun as driving other classic Mini Cooper. With 34 liter (9 U.S. gallon) of fuel capacity, you can travel at least 500 km (310 miles) then only need to fill up your tank again. The factory-claimed top speed is only 148 km/h (92 mph) but we are managed to hit 175 km/h (108.74 mph) during a test in Manchester. The feeling of driving a Mini Cooper Sport 500? Superb, Excellent, Fantastic, and Marvellous (See also 2000 Mini Classic Seven). The Mini Cooper Sport 500 costs £10,995 when it was brand new in 2000. In 2016, after 16 years, the expected price for a genuine Mini Cooper Sport 500 is at least £25,000 (USD $35,600). With that amount of money, you can buy a brand new Audi A3, BMW 2-Series, Chevrolet Impala, Chrysler 200, Ford Mustang, Mercedes-Benz CLA-class and many more.
February 8, 2016
1989 Mini Sky

In January 1989, Mini launched one of their limited edition Minis – the Mini Sky. Mini Sky is based on Mini City and the production is only limited to 500 cars. Many of them are not surviving today thus not many people (include Mini fans) know about the existence of Mini Sky. Today, MalaysiaMiniLover is going to re-introduce the Mini Sky. It is a must to bring it back to life because the design is unique and the chances to see them in any Mini Cooper Gathering is close to zero.

There is always a question in mind when a Mini lover plan to rebuild their beloved Mini – “What kind of colors should I paint?” Well, the Mini Sky is definitely a great idea for you. The Mini Sky is painted in Diamond White with a Sky blue (some called it pastel blue) roof. The original Mini Sky features grey Crayons fabric seats, black carpets, grey interior, black wheel arches, black side mirror, white wheels, and surprisingly, black bumpers and black front grille.

The Mini Sky features “Sky” decals on the body. As this is a limited edition, they are no longer available for sale. The only way to get them is to create a custom decals from any sticker shops.

Just like other Mini in the Mini MK5 generation, the Mini Sky is powered by a 998cc four-cylinder engine.

A radio/cassette player was standard in every Mini Sky. In 1989, it costs £4,695 to buy it brand new.

The original Mini Sky is nice, however, we found a photo of Mini Sky from Dean’s Minis who actually painted the wheel arches with Sky blue and replaced both the front and rear bumpers to chrome type. Isn’t it look nicer?

Will it be nicer if the side mirror also painted in Sky blue? Can we make it even more “Sky” by making two tones “Blue-White” car seats like the 1994 Mini Cooper Monte Carlo in Mini MK6 generation?

September 7, 2015
1998 Rover Mini Mayfair

Coffee, tea, or Mini? The meal we are putting on the table today is a 1998 Rover Mini Mayfair running with automatic transmission. This is one of the most standard Mini models in the Mini MK7 generation compared to 1998 Mini Paul Smith LE, 1999 Mini 40^th Anniversary, 2000 Mini Classic Seven, and 2000 Mini Cooper Sport. This Mini Mayfair is painted in light blue. A view from the front, there is not much of modification done to the car. The owner selected twin filament front side indicator lamp with a clear plain plastic lens glass. This type of front indicator lamp comes with chrome trim rim socket so that it looks shinier compared to the original orange glass.

Take a look at the wheel arches, it is painted in light blue to match the body color. What do you think? Do you think it should be painted with sky blue or electric blue? Or it is the best to be like this?

We guarantee you NEVER see these Minis before

The side mirror is not originally made for the Mini but somehow it looks like the Torpedo type. A view from the back, the owner selected Aston look petrol cap for her car. Yes, “her”. The Mayfair emblem is still remaining on the car boot.

As for the wheels, this light blue Mini Mayfair is running on standard 5×12 Minilite painted in white. Will it look like pimped out cars if we soup it up with a set of Revolution 6×12 wheel? Or 6×13 Sportspack wheel?

Interior wise, it comes with standard beige leather seat. As this is a MK7 for the Japanese market, this Mini Mayfair comes with air-conditioning. Notice there is a SRS airbag fitted to the steering wheel too.

This is not the type of Mini that you like? Check out the hot and spicy chili red Mini Cooper, The Green Mini, and the Morris Mini Cooper S 1275 MK1.

Do you own a Mini and would like to share it here? You may write to us at malaysiaminilover [AT] gmail. Do not own a Mini? Try to get one and drive it. It is never too young to start a Mini love affair.

August 16, 2014
My Mini engine won’t start

It is frustrated when a car engine won’t start especially during the morning you are rushing for your work or going for a date. My 1993 Mini Cooper does give me this headache last week. It is not usual when a car engine won’t start, there must be a reason. I’ve decided to written down my experience and hope I can pass this knowledge to the Mini world.

My 1993 Mini Cooper is powered by a 1275cc engine paired with fuel injection system. The car was kept in the garage and did not start for about six months. One early morning, I brought the car key and try to start the car. It did not cranks at all, I switch on the lights – it is not working; I press on the horn – there is no sound; I turn on the stereo – there is no music. Obviously, it is the sign of a flat battery. I quickly went to a nearby car accessories shop and get a brand new battery. Now the car cranks and it cranks very strong. The headlights are working, signal lights are working, horn is very loud, and the stereo plays nice music but it still won’t start.

At least I know the starter is working because it cranks very strong. I went on to diagnose the problem one by one. I pulled out one of the spark plugs and try to test it with any metal place under the hood. There is a strong spark – it means the ignition coil, the distributor, and the spark plugs are working. Generally, the ignition coil turns the battery power to spark and send it to the distributor, which then sends the sparks out to the spark plugs. An engine starts because of the compression, mixture or fuel and spark. So now I move on the check the fuel.

Fuel Injection

Fuel system isn’t really hard to check as long as you know how to do so. The fuel is kept in a fuel tank at the back, a fuel pump will pump the fuel from the tank to the manifold and the car will start. An injection engine has an “In” fuel host as well as “Return” fuel host. I pour a little bit fuel direct into the manifold and the engine starts! However, it starts awhile and then stops again. This is because the amount of fuel I pour in has finished burn. Now the problem is clearly diagnosed, which is the fuel system problem. I use a 17 wrench to open the “In” fuel host and crank the car. There is no fuel deliver from the fuel tank.

Fuel tank and the speaker hole

Now there is only one reason the fuel did not deliver to the manifold, the fuel pump sits inside the fuel tank at the back. I remove the fuel pump socket and use the power from battery to try if it is working. There is no sound and no response from the fuel pump. The fuel pump is the root of the problem.

Look! How bad the fuel pump is!

The correct way to replace a fuel pump in a Mini is to remove the number 13 bolt and take out the entire fuel tank. Without doing this, you can’t take the fuel pump out from the fuel tank. However, I did not do so due to laziness. I removed the speaker on top of the fuel tank, unscrew the six bolts and pull the fuel pump out from the tank through the speaker hole. Thank god the speaker hole is big enough for the pump. It’s tricky but it works and it saved me a lot of time although the correct way to replace a fuel pump is to flush the fuel tank too. Now my car is able to start and it is on the road again with over 150 km/h without any problem! Hope this article helps!

Bad fuel pump

June 24, 2012
Rover Cars

From Rover 75 to Range Rover, Rover cars are one of the British car manufacturers with most stories to tell.

Rover was founded in 1885 by John Kemp Starley and William Sutton. In early days the company focused on building modern bicycle, tricycle, and motorcycle. In 1888, Starley made an electric car but it was never put into production. (more…)

December 7, 2010