WONDER DOWN UNDER
When the Mini was released in Australia, as the Morris 850 in March 1961, the response from motorsport enthusiasts mirrored that in the UK. Some of the first local drivers to compete in Morris 850s were David Hooker, Tony Hill and Peter Manton. Manton had already made quite a name for himself, particularly in hillclimbs and some circuit racing, in a variety of BMC products.
He was also partially responsible for the development of the twin-carburettor set-up used on the Sports 850, released only five months after the Morris 850, in August 1961. The UK Mini Cooper was released in the following month and BMC Australia was reported to be cautious about plans either to import it or assemble it locally.
After all, the Sports 850, with at least distanced factory support, did boast twin carburettors and improved performance although it still retained the 848cc engine. It would take time to see if the Cooper version was substantially better which, of course, it was. It was reported that BMC Australia may have been reluctant to take on this untried formula, to compete directly with a recently-released local product with similar market profile.
According to Modern Motor magazine of January 1963, another reason was that BMC Australia was simply struggling to cope with the demand for the Morris 850 and introducing a second model so early would have been impossible. It was felt by some people that the Cooper would be too expensive in Australia. However, early private imports of the cars showed how much better they were than the Sports 850 and BMC Australia was soon assisting with a limited number of imports offered at around £1,100 according to Sports Car World of February 1963.
