Franklin Mint 1967 Morris

Everyone needs a fun model in his or her collection and the Franklin Mint 1967 Mini Cooper S Rallye fits that bill.

Although the Mini has been around for six decades it will always be the 1960's, which it will be remembered for. These ten years saw the Mini go from a 'housewives shopping ca' to the must have fashion accessory, via international stardom on the rally scene.

The Cooper S achieved superstar status when the 91bhp Works spec cars won the Monte Carlo Rally outright for 4 years running from 1964-1967 (the Mini's were disqualified in1966 for having faulty headlamps!)

Now that the Mini had proven itself in front of a world audience, everybody wanted a Cooper, and indeed everybody who was anybody in the 60s had a Cooper, from The Beatles and Peter Sellers to Graham Hill and Enzo Ferrari!

Of course they couldn't have any old Cooper they had to be modified. Companies such as Radford and Wood & Pickett who made their name tailor making Rolls Royce's and Bentleys now were turning their hands to Minis, with everything from electric windows and leather seats, to wickerwork sides and hatch backs. Thus a trend was started which has been kept up to this day, meaning that it's nearly impossible to find a Mini which hasn't been modified in some way.

I remember purchasing my Mini Cooper, there was a rumor swirling at the time that the Franklin Mint was about to pull these models off the market do to a licensing issue. I can't say for sure if it was true, but they were pulled from the shelves of all retail outlets shortly thereafter.

Fortunately for me I was dealing with a Franklin Mint Retail Outlet in Michigan and received a call informing me that these cars were about to be pulled from inventory. I asked if they had any remaining in stock and was informed one. Without hesitation I said send it my way and its been here ever since.

This is one fun replica. What can I say about it? Fit and finish are excellent even though it lacks the detail we expect today. Under hood features are good, not great, how much detail can you fit into such a small space anyway.

The interior is quite good except they placed the steering wheel on the wrong side on my model. Don't e-mail on that one it's a joke I know where it belongs. The Cooper Rallye has readable gauges that span across the entire dash making an impressive cluster in this little gem.

The trunk opens, if you remove the floor cover you will be delighted by yet another spare tire. Bringing the number to three, two on the roof and one in the trunk.

Unfortunately, the Rallye is no longer available from the Franklin Mint. You may try to locate one on the secondary market or auction but acquiring one can be a challenge. I normally don't see these on auction often and when one does appear it commands a premium price. In my opinion they are worth the price for what I consider a fantastic replica.

In closing, would I say this is a must have model? Certainly not, unless you are a Mini Cooper collector.

Would I have rushed out and purchased this model without the knowledge that I had at the time? No.

Do I regret making this purchase? Not at all, it is one of my favorite models.

Therefore, I conclude if you want something a little different, the Morris Cooper S Rallye surely fits the bill. I rate this replica as a 'Five star addition worthy of a place on anyone's shelf.