Original Mini given a new lease of life, at considerable cost.
While most car nuts were very pleased to see the Mini brand revived by BMW years ago, not all of them have been fans of some of the giant variants which have popped up over the years.
Enter the David Brown Automotive company in the UK, which specialises in hand-building short-run high-end vehicles – for example the Speedback GT, which looks vaguely like a sixties Aston Martin, but is a unique retro product with a thumping great supercharged V8 in the snout.
The latest exercise is a complete rework of the Morris/BMC/Leyland mini of the sixties, using the original bodywork profile and an updated version of the original powerplant.
All the seams have been stripped off the body and overall it has a smooth and subtly modified profile. Inside there are acres of leather, a wooden-rimmed steering wheel, plus modern electronics including a touchscreen.
As for the powerplant, the 1275cc four has been given a new lease of life and now claims 78hp (58kW) @ 5700rpm and 123Nm of torque at 3100rpm. That’s a very substantial jump over the original – close to double the power. That’s tied to a four-speed manual transmission.
You can order a hotted-up version of the engine.
All up, kerb weight has been kept to a claimed 740kg while top speed is said to be 145km/h.
And price? Ah, that’s the catch. Some 1000 are said to be planned and are individually ordered direct from the maker. UK reports suggest the starting price is around 50,000 pounds, or an eye-watering $87,000.