MINIs are an aspirational car for many - we’ve published lots of stories about owners who’ve wanted nothing else. Kirsty Atkinson is one of them and now owns this rather special R53 Cooper S.
Kirsty remembers wanting an Electric Blue R53 MINI Cooper S since she was 10 years old. As she got older, she became more interested in cars and modifying them and by 17, she’d gone as far as making a list of modifications for the way she wanted her MINI to look!
However, like all of us she first needed to pass her test. Within months she had her licence, but she didn't have enough money to buy a Cooper S – yet.
Her MINI-modding dreams were put on hold for a while so she could build up her no-claims bonus a bit, but at long last she bit the bullet and bought this Dark Silver Cooper S from a dealer in Wembley. “I was so excited on the test drive and I absolutely loved the car. It was the first one I viewed and I took it home that night,” Kirsty smiles. The smile on her dad’s face as he drove it home was enough to confirm that she’d bought the right car! “I hadn’t even told my boyfriend that I was viewing a car that day, so that was a great feeling!”
That was over two years ago. Kirsty is still only 21, but her MINI has changed a lot in that time and she’s the first to admit it doesn’t feel that long! So how long did it stay standard? It turns out that she bought the XXR wheels and TA Technix coilovers before the car and the coilovers were the first to go on, within a matter of days. So it didn’t stay standard for long at all!
Denne historien er fra May - June 2017-utgaven av Modern MINI.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Denne historien er fra May - June 2017-utgaven av Modern MINI.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
What Goes Round Comes Round
Thought lambo doors have had their day? Wrong – vince wong’s highly detailed build is here to show that eyecatching mods are timeless. And this build’s about far more than a set of fancy doors…
The Full Works
After cutting his teeth on a Mini Roadster, morgan gray managed to get his dream car – a fully loaded, Jen 3 John Cooper works, and he uses it properly, too…
How To…De-Chrome A Mini
De-chroming is a quick, easy, and very effective way to improve a modern mini’s looks and appearance. Here’s what’s involved…
Purple Haze
THE SPIRIT OF THE SIXTIES IS STRONG IN THIS BLACK EYE PURPLE R53 – AND YET AT THE SAME TIME, IT’S A THOROUGHLY MODERN BUILD, HIDING HILARIOUS PERFORMANCE BENEATH ITS SPANGLY DISCO PAINTWORK…
Driven: Mini Cooper S 60 Years Edition
MINI HAS A REPUTATION FOR MAKING SPECIAL BIRTHDAY EDITIONS, SO MARTYN HAS BEEN DRIVING THE LATEST TO FIND OUT IF THE COOPER S 60 YEARS EDITION IS A WORTHY CONTENDER…
Cruel Sport
UNFORTUNATE MISTAKES HAVE SHOWN ALEX JUST HOW FINE THE MARGINS ARE IN THE PRO CLASS, AND JUST HOW CRUEL MOTORSPORT CAN BE AT TIMES…
Purple Passion
Steve Davidson dreamed of owning a Cooper S since school and we reckon his BMW-wheeled R53 has been worth the wait.
Family Business
MINIs have been a part of Antonio Sapata’s whole life, leading him to build this R53 with unique custom touches as a tribute to his uncle.
Mini Variant Buyers Guide
The boom in second generation MINIs gave clues as to how BMW planned to develop the brand; here’s more about these MINI variants and why they’re still worth a look
Mini One D ClubMan
First came the Cooper, Cooper D, Cooper S and Cooper SD and ALL4 Clubmans. But we’ve just spent some time with the one that MINI told us wouldn’t be built – the entry-level One D.
