Here's my 1971 Innocenti Mini Cooper. While most of the classic Minis were built in England and came with an Austin, Morris or Rover badge, some were built in other countries. For a while there, Innocenti was one of Italy's biggest car builders.

While the engines came from England, almost everything else was sourced locally. As a result, there are some small differences---vent windows, different interiors and a cool gauge cluster. Plus most of the body panels are slightly different.

This is one of the sportier Cooper models. It came stock with a high-compression 998cc engine, twin SU carbs and front disc brakes.

Look for this car to make occasional appearances in Classic Motorsports magazine, too.

Okay, here are some more photos of the car. (That's my helper.) Check out the dash. That gauge cluster was standard on the Innocenti Cooper. Most Minis have a simpler setup. These gauges are in Italian, but they look cool. The seats, door panels and shift knob are not stock.

Under the hood, well, it's 998cc of raging goodness. The engine is supposed to make 60 horsepower, which isn't bad for one liter. The car is quick enough to run with modern traffic, which is all I ask it to do.