Mini Cooper Coupe JCW: Brad revisits his youth
This post comes to us from Brad, a friend of the Blythbros!
It’s 2001, I’m 14 and sitting in the driver’s seat of the “New” MINI at the Boston car expo. Up to this point, the only car I have driven involves pedals, a lever that applies a metal rod to one of the rear wheels for “Braking”, and is badged “KETTLER”. But in my mind and dreams, I have driven across the country a hundred times. I picture myself driving this MINI, I depress the clutch and pull the gear lever into second *CLUNK*, then into third *CLUNK*, it feels like a straighter path into third than it should be. I like it. I reach for the center console where my eyes have caught sight of the gleaming row of toggle switches. Tales of my father’s Jaguar XKE wash over me and my heart races as I flip them up and down. The battery is disconnected so nothing happens but that’s not the point, the simple mechanical click is reward enough. Then I hear my father’s voice, it is 10pm on a school night and we have to leave. As we walk away I glance back and know that someday I’ll get to experience the vehicle that closest resembles my beloved KETTCAR.
