2002 MINI Cooper S

YEAR: 2002
MODEL: MINI Cooper S (R53)
VIN#: TD68615
ENGINE: 1.6L Inline Four-Cylinder
CURB WEIGHT: 2,767 LBS.
TOP SPEED: 128 MPH
PRICE WHEN NEW: $19,850 
NUMBER BUILT: Unknown
BUILD DATE: May 21, 2003
COLOR: Alpine White
OWNERS: Lance White
(Since February 14, 2011)
LOCATION: Cincinnati, OH
NICKNAME: THE MINI

The MINI Cooper S (R53) went on sale in the United States on March 22, 2002, and the world of enthusiast cars was changed forever. This was a driver’s car of the first order and the idea of going Motoring in your MINI became a true phenomenon. Every trip to the grocery store became a timed racing event and the MINI Cooper S was the most fun to drive car many people had seen in decades. 

The engineers at BMW who designed the new MINI, this time with capital letters for its name, took all that was great about the original Mini and created a modern version for the 21st century. Of all the retro modern cars that came out at this time the MINI was by far the best and the only one still being sold today. This 2002 MINI Cooper S is an example of the car that built the MINI brand.

TC Kline built the car putting together a totaled car and a body shell from a flood car.  He did it to learn all about MINI cars and how they were put together in case we wanted to race one. The cool things he did to the car were paint it Alpine white instead of the stock Pepper White, and installed Koni struts and shocks with ride height adjusters and coil over springs. 

Lance White purchased the car from TC in February, 2011.