Mini announced the extra special Mini Cooper Anniversary Edition earlier in the summer, and it officially went on sale this week with a price of $40,750 including destination. It's only available on the Hardtop 2-Door model - which starts at about $23,000 - but it makes sense the smaller version was chosen considering the first Mini Cooper was a two-door and was by far the raciest. But at that price, it's only about eight grand more than the Mini Cooper JCW.

The first Mini with a Cooper badge debuted in 1961, and this 2021 model celebrates its first victory "as an overlooked underdog." Mini is only making 740 of them, honoring three generations of the Cooper heritage, starting with John Cooper's original creation.

The Mini Cooper Anniversary will be offered in several colors, but American customers will get exclusively the British Racing Green pictured here, which looks a little lighter than usual in these shots. We also get white hood stripes and red outlines that come from the original Cooper motif. It looks a lot like the Mini John Cooper Works GP but without the wing.

It also gets the Cooper Car Company logo on the door sills and side scuttles, as well as the number 74 on the hood and doors. That number is a tribute to the Mini Cooper first race, and why the company is only building 740 examples.

The Mini Anniversary Edition comes with touchscreen navigation, a panoramic moonroof, a white roof and mirror caps, and a few other special features. All Anniversary Editions will be based on the Mini John Cooper Works Hardtop. Engine-wise, this means we're still looking at the 228-horsepower turbocharged four with either a six-speed manual or automatic transmission.

"The Cooper name shares a storied history with MINI, and this new Anniversary Edition reflects the Cooper performance heritage, offering a classic and sporty appearance," said Patrick McKenna, Department Head of Marketing Product and Strategy, MINI USA. "John Cooper kicked off sixty years of performance innovation with the original Mini Cooper, and the Anniversary Edition honors the Cooper legacy that helped define MINI's performance pedigree over the last six decades."