Vintage Funsters

Vintage Funsters
It goes without saying that today's sport compacts aren't the first machines to plant grins on their driver's faces. Take a look at the family album of the Mini Cooper S, Pontiac Vibe, or Volkswagen New Beetle Turbo S, and you'll find some slightly dog-eared, but none-too-faded snapshots of fun-loving forebears.

The original Mini Cooper S was an Austin, or Morris, not a BMW, and in 1963 the tiny, 10-ft-long commuter sedan rocked the sports-car world with a 70-hp (SAE gross) 1071cc four-banger that would do 0-60 mph in 12 sec. With rubber-cone springs, go-kart-like 10-in. wheels, and featherlite 1400-lb curb weight, the Cooper S defied convention, then as now.

The Tempest-based V-8-powered GTO of show and song helped launch Pontiac as a performance brand, but a more international flavor was pursued with the Tempest Sprint. Introduced in 1966, the Sprint featured a hot-rodded, single overhead-cam 230-cu-in. I-6 pegged at 165-hp SAE gross in two-barrel form or a smokin' 207 hp with hotter valve timing, double valve springs, and a Quadrajet four-barrel carb. Bucket seats, an optional four-speed floor shift, tasteful sill-mounted racing stripes, and discreet OHC-6 fender badges decorated this Pontiac, which would run 0-60 mph in 10 sec flat.

There wouldn't likely be a New Beetle if Volkswagen hadn't burned the concept of the original (Old) Beetle into our collective retinas. Toward the end of the Old Beetle's run, VW split off a slightly improved evolution of the species. Launched in 1971 (and sold alongside the regular Beetle), the Super Beetle switched over to a better-riding (and now universal) MacPherson strut front suspension, netting a larger front trunk and tighter turning circle in the process. A larger windshield and more contemporary dash followed shortly thereafter. Then, as now, the Super Beetle continued VW's philosophy of relentless product-improvement cycles. Say "cheese"!