Rare Mini Cooper owned by the Tory MP who introduced the motorway to the UK to go on sale for £80,000
MP Ernest Marples was the man behind motorways, yellow lines and traffic wardens and now his Mini Cooper will go under the hammer
A RARE Mini Cooper owned by the Tory MP who brought motorways, yellow lines and traffic wardens to the UK is to go under the hammer for £80,000.
Alfred Ernest Marples was the Minister of Transport from 1959 to 1964 and also a wealthy businessman.
He was a Mini fan but legend has it he didn't own one because he couldn't fit his golf clubs in the boot.
His problem was solved with this very rare 'hatchback' Mini Cooper - which was one of just three models developed by the Austin Experimental Department.
The Mini Cooper was a 1964 prototype which the company sold to Marples in 1968, and is believed to be the only remaining of the three original hatchbacks.
It's valued between £70,000 and £80,000 by auction house H&H Classic - making it one of the most valuable Minis ever sold.
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Damian Jones, head of sales at H&H Classics, said: "This is not just another Mini. It is history on four wheels.
"Its former owner, Transport Minister Ernest Marples, changed the face of Britain with housing, bridges and motorways.
"He was a very 'colourful character' to say the least. It is fascinating that he chose to buy and use this relatively modest car when going golfing or going to France on holiday.
"If this car could speak what tales might it not tell? It is truly one of a kind."
While Minister of Transport, Marples started the development of the country's motorway system in which his own company, Ridgway and Partners, played a major part in the road and bridge building.
He was also responsible for running down the railway system and evoked intense dislike in the public.
'Marples Must Go' signs were spray-painted across all the motorway bridges and car magazines were full of criticism of his policies.
In 1975, Marples, who had by then been made a baron, fled the country in a hurry because of tax evasion. He died in Monaco in 1978 aged 70.
The Mini Cooper will be auctioned by H&H Classics on July 26.
