The crazy inception of the R50 and R53 is even more an an amazing story that just gets better when you realize just how good those cars were. Literally from day one a cult following developed spawning fans, groups, clubs and an online world that rivaled much larger automakers. And that enthusiasm has only grown over the years as prices have fallen and more people have experiences these MINIs.

For years they’ve been easy to pick-up with plentiful demand and relatively low prices. However over the past 24 months we’ve started to see prices stabilize and in some cases even rise. And things like Hagerty placing the R50 on its “Bull List” for 2022 isn’t going to help.

Henry Catchpole (from EVO fame) uses this occasion to drive the R50 again and reevaluate it in a modern context. All in it’s a great video for MINI fans from the R50 time period or something looking for a bit of encouragement before taking the plunge into a near classic MINI.

R53 MINI