What happended to the hot hatch? Part 1

I have been looking at the evolution of superminis, and to be honest I feel gibbed. In line with progress and general perception of things getting ‘better’, the everyman’s performance car has lost it’s mojo and swagger. They’re bigger, heavier, more complex and I think less appealing.

Let’s have a look right back at the start. Many credit the Volkswagen Golf GTi as the first to start the craze. Sure, it was the first to have that now fabled GTi badge, but there were some (very good) hot hatches before it that are very much worth mentioning.

Perhaps the best place to look for a good backgrounder is the iconic Mini, especially the Cooper ‘S’. Released first in 1959 by the British Motor Company (BMC), the first Mini Cooper was a collaboration between original designer Sir Alec Issigonis and friend John Cooper.

In it’s most exciting form, the Cooper S had a engine capacity of 1,275cc (up from 848), and was fed by twin SU carburettors. During the mid 60’s the Cooper ‘S’ tore many prominent international race events to shreds. Wins at the Monte Carlo Rally  in ‘64, ‘65 and 67 (a 1, 2, 3 result in ‘66 was disqualified by a French judge) is just one example.

The car also got notable fame at the 1966 Gallaher 500 held at Mount Panorama, where nine (!) Morris Cooper S’ took the top places. Wins at races on weekends, especially the endurance races helped boost a car’s image through the roof. “Win on Sunday, sell on Monday” didn’t just sound good, it was very apparent.

I have seen a Cooper S in action at a Historic Sports and Race Car Association (HSRCA) of NSW race meet at Oran Park and Eastern Creek. The only time the Mini Cooper was not breathing down the neck of 289 V8 Mustang (Similar to Geoghean’s) was down the longer straights, but the little Cooper made up for the loss quickly under brakes and with cornering speed.

What made the Cooper ‘S’ dominate so easily? It screams at you when you look at it; the size and weight of the car gave it huge physics advantages over anything else. The Cooper S did not weight over 700 kg; speaking volumes about the car’s characterstics and performance. For a quick comparo, the current Cooper S is 3,714 mm long, and 1,912 mm wide. The 1964 Austin Mini Cooper S, with the 1275 motor was only 3,054 mm long and 1,410 mm wide.

Although it is one of the lighter sportscars available today, the Cooper S still weighs around 1,100 Kilos. Where does all the extra weight go? softening creature comforts for weak, fragile drivers who should harden up?

I honestly beleive, as technology is stepping forward across all things mechanical, we should be able to keep weight down easier. A small, simple hatch that weighs around 800 kg would require only a tiny modern turbo’ed petrol motor to whisk it along. The whole mentality behind it though, seems to be lost.

We will just put in a bigger motor, which will need a bigger radiator and clutch, which will need a bigger housing, which will need a heavier gearbox, which will need strengthened/heavier diffs and axles. Oh, we better put bigger brakes on it as well. And while we’re at it, we can whack bigger wheels and tyres on it as well.

Are we just gettting bigger?

Is it too imaginative and selfish to imagine a car built to a weight, using lightweight components like exotic metal compounds and small, punchy and exciting motors? Is it still feasible?

Stay tuned, because I will explore this later in the second installment. A Car magazine poll crowned the Lancia Delta Integrale the best hot hatch, followed closely by the Saab 99 Turbo.

What do you think? Leave a comment about what you think is the best hot hatch of all time, whether it is opinion or personal experience, it is all valued.