an iconic name can make or break the fortunes of an automobile, as time runs grain by inexorable grain through the celestial hourglass. Some cars are able to transcend a humdrum moniker to ascend to greatness (the Maserati Quattroporte, for example – it may sound exotic to an Anglo-Saxon ear, but ‘Four-door’ is hardly an inspiring name), while others are pulled up on the coat-tails of arguably inappropriate titles: the Mazda Bongo Friendee, for instance, or the Isuzu Mysterious Utility Wizard. Without that astounding badge there’d be no reason to buy one, and yet they shifted units like nobody’s business.
The Cooper name has long been synonymous with hot Minis and MINIs, dating back to
