Mini’s first success in the racing world happened in 1962 when the Mini Cooper emerged victorious at its first international rally.
Fast forward to sixty years later, and Mini is paying homage to Pat Moss with the introduction of the Mini Pat Moss Edition. Just in case you are wondering, Pat Moss delivered the brand’s first international rally victory behind the wheel of a classic Mini.
Announced at the International Women’s Day, the Mini Pat Moss Edition is based on the Cooper S hardtop two-door, a Cooper S hardtop four-door, and a John Cooper Works hardtop.
It features unique design cues that pay homage to Pat Moss and her co-driver Ann Wisdom. These include a Multi-tone Roof with its a new colour variant that extends from Chili Red to Melting Silver and to Jet Black.
The roof paintwork is combined with the body finishes Pepper White or Midnight Black metallic, and red exterior mirror caps. The C-pillars feature a stylised tulip that symbolises the first rally win while the side scuttles have the ‘Pat Moss’ lettering. The wheel hub covers boast an exclusive design with a graphic based on the outline of the Dutch flower and Mini wordmark.
Key homages to the 1962 Tulip Rally are showcased below the side scuttles on the front side panels. These include the route Noordwijk – Monte Carlo – Noordwijk, the distance of 2,500 km, the vehicle, namely a Mini Cooper, and its starting number 104.
For the first time, the Mini Pat Moss Edition gets a horizontally-aligned bonnet in strip white with printed three-dimensional numbers and letters; 737 ABL which is the registration number of the classic Mini.
A ‘born to compete’ slogan is imprinted on the same spot. Other facts about the rally can also be found on the screen-printed aluminum door sill trims.
Inside, the Pat Moss Edition features the iconic signature on the Piano Black interior surface in the passenger area, sports leather steering wheel with the edition emblem and an abstract depiction of engine pistons moving up and down.
There are bars of different heights forming the shape of the letters ‘M’ and ‘W’ for ‘Moss’ and ‘Wisdom’.
It comes standard with the brand’s Parking Assist and Active Cruise Control and will also be offered with either a 6-speed manual transmission, or an 8-speed sport automatic transmission at no extra cost.
Mini is expected to build only 800 units of the Pat Moss Edition for the global market with Mini SA confirming it will be available locally in very limited numbers from the third quarter of 2022.