Mini Cooper S MkII John Rhodes 1968 Brands Hatch

Mini Cooper S MkII John Rhodes 1968 Brands Hatch

John Rhodes was born in Wolverhampton in August 1927 into a family whose interest in motorsport was deep-rooted. His own interest started when his father took him to a race at a very early age. His golden racing years were the 1960s, a period of classic car racing and John Rhodes’ extravagant motoring antics involving high speed and smoking tyres earned him the name ‘Smokin’ Rhodes’. The crowds loved him and he enjoyed playing to them with his driving skills, often resulting in the destruction of the dipswitch in every race! John’s racing career included Formula One World Championship Grand Prix, the British Grand Prix and many others in a variety of cars. However, his greatest successes came as part of the John Cooper’s works Mini Cooper stable, including saloon car racing and international sports car racing with BMC on circuits such as Le Mans and Targa Florio. It was with John Cooper’s team that he won the 1300cc Class B in the British Touring Car Championship every year between 1965 and 1968. Following retirement, John’s interests centred on both boats and car restoration but he came out of retirement to compete in the Goodwood Revival meeting, which also re-kindled his thirst and saw him making several subsequent appearances in different cars. However, after a serious accident at Brands Hatch, he decided enough was enough! Now in his late 80s, John is still a great enthusiast but from a safe distance.

Our 1:76 scale model is a replica of John’s Mini Cooper in which he made his last appearance at Brands Hatch in 1968. Painted dark green with white roof and decorative stripes, his white race number 11 adorns both the doors and the bonnet. The BMC rosette features below the rear side windows, along with a mass of sponsorship decals including Ferodo and Castrol. The interior, including the steering wheel, is completely black. A particular detail sees the headlights with black ‘taped’ glass, just like the real thing.