Although designed first and foremost a city-friendly econobox, the original Mini began its transition into a rally icon when it caught the attention of John Cooper, a good friend of Alec Issigonis, the man behind the car’s brilliant design. Cooper had made a name for himself by dominating Formula One in 1959 and 1960 with his innovative rear-engined race cars so he was no stranger to engineering. Story has it he noticed the Mini’s potential as soon as Issigonis showed him a set of early design sketches.