It is the MINI that is as fast as a Formula One car. OK, so it is a brand new Works MINI Cooper S and an old Formula One car, but, even so, as proof of just how far modern car technology has come, it is fairly conclusive. And this weekend the 200bhp Works Cooper S cars make their racing debut, carrying on the phenomenal Cooper racing tradition.

John Cooper’s revolutionary cars of the 1950s turned the world of racing upside down. His rear-engined Coopers were a revelation in an age of grands prix dominated by factory-built, front-engined cars. Stirling Moss won the Argentine Grand Prix in the 1958 Cooper, the first win for a rear-engined car and the first victory for a privately engineered car. In 1959 and 1960, Cooper cars took the Formula One Drivers’ and Constructors’ World Championships with Jack Brabham at the wheel.

The new MINI is a world away from the Cooper Formula One cars but in one important respect follows the Cooper tradition: it is the bespoke race car for the Everyman. The racing MINIs have taken affordable motor sport to a new level, John Cooper says. “I recently took one of our MINI Cooper Works cars around Goodwood, a track that has not changed significantly since it was used for Formula One racing more than four decades ago, and the times were equivalent to the times turned in by the Formula One Cooper cars that my father designed,” he said.

The original Mini was launched in 1959 and two years later the Mini Cooper arrived. The modern Works MINI Cooper S is, in its way, just as extraordinary as its 1960s ancestor. The new design from BMW, the owner, has brought admiration and loathing alike from Mini traditionalists. Longer, wider and heavier than the original Mini, it shares little with the original car. Both carry the Mini name — although BMW spells the name in capital letters — and both share a huge sense of adventure and fun.

Stuck on the M25, crawling towards the accident-snarled Dartford Crossing, the Works MINI Cooper S, for all its 200bhp and high performance, is a pussy cat. The clutch is very light, the steering easy and the interior is a wonderful place to be. From the giant speedometer stuck slap bang in the middle of the dashboard to the row of black toggle switches, separated by their little chrome hoops, the detailing is a delight.

A few hours later the same car, using the same tyres, is being hurled around the Goodwood track at speeds in excess of 120mph, squealing, rocking and rolling through the corners and bustling down the straight.

Customers who stump up £26,000 for their Works Cooper S can then pay another £5,000 to have their cars fitted with a roll cage, race harness, fire cut-out and entry to the 12-round 2004 John Cooper Challenge, entitling them to compete against like-minded MINI racing fiends at tracks including Brands Hatch, Silverstone, Donington Park and Oulton Park.

Mike Cooper, son of John and now managing director of John Cooper Works, who race-prepare the cars for BMW, said: “The concept of the John Cooper Challenge is to be able to drive your road-going car to the track, put your helmet on and then go out and race, without even having to change the tyres. Then, after you have done your racing, you can just drive your car home. Everything about the race cars is road-legal, including the tyres. Even the stereo is left in the car for the racing.”

Hurtling around Goodwood, the Works Cooper S is a delight. There is no fuss about the car at speed. It seems to run through fast corners perfectly flat, with hardly any lean. Being front-wheel drive there is no sliding rear end to worry about and the supercharged power is delivered smoothly and predictably.

The car is fast, but it is not performance alone that will help it to sell. The name is all. What is it about the two words, MINI and Cooper, side by side, that so excites drivers who enjoy performance motoring? Mike Cooper said: “It still all comes from the 1960s, when the Mini victories in the Monte Carlo Rally really brought the Cooper name to the front of people’s minds.

“Remember that winning the Monte Carlo Rally in the 1960s was a much bigger event then than it is now. It was always on the front pages with Paddy Hopkirk winning, whereas today rallying is pretty much confined to the sports pages.

“The Works Cooper is the ultimate performance Mini. The car is all about having fun. There is no car that is as much fun to drive as a Mini and the Works Cooper takes that one step further.”

John Cooper died little more than three years ago and Mike said: “In many ways the new Works car, and the John Cooper race series, is a tribute to my Dad. The Mini and the Works Cooper are here to stay.”

WORKS MINI COOPER S

Engine: 1.6-litre supercharged petrol producing 200bhp at 7,000rpm, driving the front wheels through six-speed manual gearbox.
Performance: Top speed 140mph, 0-62mph in 6.7 seconds.
Price: £26,000.