Innholdsfortegnelse for July 2023 i Mini Magazine

Eleven feature cars. Eleven! I think that might be the most we’ve ever crammed into a single issue of Mini Magazine. It’s hard to know where to start really, but let’s begin with the cover car: surrounded by supercars every day, it’s had to fight back hard to survive, and this Ferrari-red turbo terror is a proper little monster now. We’ve got some extremely high-end and in-depth builds elsewhere in the issue. There’s an innovative and mouldbreaking HLE that’s transcended its humble roots to become something genre-defining; a restomodded Rover, painstakingly crafted with astounding attention to detail; a Clubman estate cleverly reinvented with GT flair and oodles of carbon fibre. (Oh, and that one’s a family daily driver too.) There’s a Sidewalk with extra tartan, an extremely angry R56, a…

Of the thousands of cars present, it was a dusty Mini 1275 GT that became the most talked about of them all at Birmingham’s NEC. One owner from new, just 11,936 miles on the clock and hidden in storage for over 30 years, the 1970 model sold at auction for almost double its top estimate at £39,100 including fees. A unique Mini 850, with a glass-fibre boot added to the original bodywork by its sole previous owner, won the barn find competition by public vote. And, where it is all about pristine, nipping into the Pride of Ownership wins was Alex Mills’ 1998 Cooper. Car clubs are the backbone of the show, one of which was the Midlands Mini Club where members worked on a Clubman in a live demonstration…

The Mini Spares Fastest Mini in the World race is in its 29th year, the first race having been held at Silverstone in 1994. The race has seen many great drivers on the grid such as Peter Baldwin, Bill Sollis, Martin Short, and Bill Richards – further providing a rich history to such a fabulous race which delivers both driver and spectator enjoyment. Over recent years the race has become one of the feature attractions at the Mini Festival at Brands Hatch. This year’s race is all set to happen on Sunday 6th August. Its popularity continues to grow, especially over recent years with the introduction of live streaming and ever-increasing grid numbers – motorsport enthusiasts love the impressive array of classic Minis competing together in one race that can…

How do you distil the essence of the supercar? It’s an intangible thing, there’s no hard-and-fast set of rules; we know that it has to be something unusual and out-of-the ordinary, a car with flair and panache. One that looks sensational, and has colossal horsepower from an engine with many, many cylinders. It should stop people in their tracks, cause grown-ups to mop their brows and kids to whip out their phones and snap it for the ’Gram. What we’re trying to pin down here is a formula which belligerently refuses to be defined: the wow factor. There have been countless interpretations of the supercar concept over the last five or six decades. Sylph-like Italian masterpieces, brutal American tyre-slayers, artisanal British craft creations… some manufacturers have even managed to sanitise…

It’s some 55 years since 73-year-old Rob first began working on cars, and it’s fair to say he’s built up a vast amount of valuable experience in that time. “I initially started working for Mardrive in Oughtibridge, building up E-Type Jaguars on new f loorpans,” he recalls. “I then moved to the Northern Healey Centre in Castleford, restoring all types of Austin Healeys.” Rob went on to work for a friend repairing Bentleys and even going as far as to build a one-off special by lengthening a Mk6 chassis and fitting a straight-eight engine. “More recently, I began restoring various exotic classics in a friend’s collection which involved repairing Jaguars, Ferraris, Porsches and an exact replica of a 427 AC Cobra,” he says. Working on such iconic high-end machinery on…

BUILT BY BASIL CUSTOM GEARKNOBS From £75 Built by Basil, founded by Simon Basil, creates custom gearknobs using recycled skateboards and hardwoods. Simon’s process begins by collecting discarded boards from skate parks, skate shops, and local skaters. These are stripped of their grip tape, sanded, and cut to size; the pieces are glued together into a block, which is then turned on his lathe. The gearknob is engraved and clear-coated in gloss or satin; Simon can layer the knob in different patterns to create unique designs to add a touch of personalised style to your vehicle. Gearknobs start from £75 and vary in pricing based on customer specifications. ● www.builtbybasil.com ● @builtbybasil SILVER CROSS ECO COLLECTION £various Silver Cross has launched its award winning car seat collection in brand new…

it’s fair to say that you don’t see many Pacemans around, either on the road or in the mag, but that doesn’t mean this slightly more unusual MINI doesn’t have its fair share of fans, with Dave Mayo being one of them. For Dave, MINI has been a big part of his life for a long time now; “Since the release of the BMW MINI back in the early 2000s I have been a big fan! The shape, design and link to its heritage were just on point. The Paceman is actually the seventh MINI I’ve owned, from the first R53s to R55, R56, R60 and an R57 (my wife’s current runaround), and now the Paceman… saving the best till last,” he grins. “The Paceman is such a rare beast…

The pursuit of ultimate pleasure can lead you down some pretty serpentine and opulently appointed pathways. Fans of Douglas Adams’ iconic Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy will be familiar with the Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster: the so-called ‘best drink in existence’, this cocktail mixes the Ol’ Janx Spirit with the water of the seas from Santraginus V, along with three cubes of Arcturan mega-gin, a measure of Qualactin Hypermint extract, the tooth of an Algolian Suntiger, all bubbled through with Fallian marsh gas –the effect of drinking it is said to be like having your brains smashed out by a slice of lemon wrapped around a large gold brick. Which, back in the early 1970s, was essentially the effect that could be achieved by driving a Wood & Pickett Margrave.…

■ This fan favourite for Mini enthusiasts is back at its new home following a successful launch in 2022. Sywell Aerodrome in Northamptonshire is the venue for Mini in the Park, a privately owned airfield that plays host to a variety of events including the Sywell Classic. Expect to find all of the usual wall-to-wall entertainment MITP provides plus much more! Some highlights include: Trade Stands Stands from well-known Mini specialists are on hand, plus a hoard of keen autojumblers selling used parts and anything else car-related. Club Stands More than 40 car clubs are already confirmed. If you would like to join with your club, there’s still time to enter – contact lisa@livepromotions.co.uk for more details. Pole Position Parking Not part of a club but want to be part…

When lifelong Mini fan Lee Stott required a family car to ferry his three children and two dogs around, only a Clubman estate would suffice. This is no ordinary estate though, thanks to a lairy 1293 and a vast array of trick bespoke mods including a multitude of carbon fibre parts, along with a custom interior to name but a few. Lee initially formed a passion for Minis thanks to not one, but two of his uncles who spent much of their time working on a wide range of examples on their driveways. By the time he was 16, Lee had demonstrated such a keen interest in all things Mini that an uncle donated one of their fleet to his good cause. “I was undertaking a mechanics course at college…

From karting to racing Mighty Minis, Tom Moseley recently switched to competing in the highly popular Time Attack series. While a classic Mini wouldn’t be everyone’s first weapon of choice, it seems his 1293cc lightweight screamer has already managed to upset a few drivers who are piloting far more exotic machinery! Not unlike many of the great racing drivers, 31-year-old Tom began his competitive driving career in karting at a young age, soon discovering he had a natural talent behind the wheel. The progression towards racing full-sized cars began around fifteen years ago when both Tom and his ever-supportive dad, Paul, were looking for an entry route into a form of affordable motorsport. “There are so many options out there, it’s a minefield,“ Tom explains. “After months of research, we…

Something we hear so often from feature car owners is how their passion for motoring can be blamed squarely on their parents, and that’s very much the case for Alex Eyles. “For as long as I can remember my dad has been doing autocross events, and that’s where it all started for me,” he explains. “I started driving around the age of 8, and as soon as I was old enough to compete I was double-driving with him. His car is quite heavily modified, it’s a Ford Escort RS2000 that’s been gutted, caged and had a Vauxhall red-top dumped up the front, and for me this was a normal car to work on and drive! His day-to-day car at the time was a Honda Accord Type R and we would…

Bought for a few hundred pounds from a scrapyard, this striking 1979 1275 GT soon evolved into a seemingly never-ending project. Hit with a multitude of problems along the way, many of which were overcome with some clever improvisation, Frank Short is quite rightly highly chuffed with the end result. Like so many of us, his first road-legal car happened to be a Mini. “I was 17 at the time and have very fond memories of that car,” 54-year-old Frank smiles, “I always wanted another Mini one day, it was an itch I had to scratch!” The classifieds were scoured and after some intense searching, he came across this Clubman for sale on Gumtree of all places. “The car was advertised by a scrapyard, which was probably a warning sign,”…

■ Braving decidedly wintry weather, a record number of bidders flocked to March’s Hampson Auctions sale of classic and prestige cars at Mavericks, Holywell in North Wales, where a sale rate of 75% was achieved along with a number of notable individual results. Of particular interest to us was the left-hand-drive 1275 GT, one of just a handful in existence, and the Wood & Pickett Margrave: resplendent in metallic blue, and with its original Radiomobile Stereo 8 player and a Stage 3-tuned motor, this little rarity made a surprisingly reasonable £9,833.…

Due to the uncertainty surrounding Covid, please be aware that events are subject to change. Keep an eye on the organisers’ websites to stay up to date with any developments. 4th June National Metro & Mini Show Held at the British Motor Museum, Gaydon. Club stands, displays, trade stands, and museum entry is all included in the price. www.britishmotormuseum.co.uk 11th June National Mini Day Another superb event at Beaulieu, Hants, organised by the Mini Cooper Register. And yes, the ticket gets you into the museum too! www.minicooper.org 17th-18th June Players Classic This quality Goodwood-based event celebrates all that’s cutting-edge in the modding scene alongside all manner of retro fare. Always one of the most diverse and entertaining shows of the season. www.players-show.com/players-classic 13th-16th July Goodwood Festival of Speed There’s no…

We’ve come across some insane projects over the years while compiling our On The Job features, but Kieran Baybutt’s fibreglass 4WD monster powered by a 400bhp nitrous and turbofed, fully forged B18C4 Honda VTEC engine must surely take some beating! Fortunately, Kieran’s gained plenty of experience in the world of VTECconverted Minis over the years and after building the first example for himself, he decided to make a business out of it. While the cars he builds and converts for his KJB Fabrications customers are impressive enough in their own right, when it came to developing his own creation, Kieran decided to take things up a notch or ten. Utilising a fibreglass shell to save weight along with a modified Honda CRV 4WD system and custom subframes, not to mention…

Modifying Minis is one of those universal constants, like photosynthesis or the patterns of the tides. It’s just something that happens. As long as there have been Minis in the world, there have been people champing at the bit to customise them, from the inception of the Mk1 through the enduring cult of all the variants that followed. There’s nothing that hasn’t been done to this plucky little icon – rally reps, street sleepers, dragsters, lowriders, race cars, surf wagons, every conceivable style has popped up on these pages. And for Alex Tilley, this is a biological imperative that has compelled him since childhood. The Mini you see here is something he bought back in 2010 when he was just 14 years old, and it’s fair to say that a…

It’s a question of pressure, really, and of cumulative effects. The manner in which households of yore kept their homes warm without choking on the smoke was to instal a chimney, the pressure difference created by the hot column of gases creating draught and pulling air over the coals or the firewood, keeping it burning while also chasing the smoke away. Naturally the soot adheres itself to the walls of the chimney over time, reducing its efficiency and also posing a risk of combustion. It’s an elegant scientific process that also brings with it a frisson of sooty terror. Why are we talking about chimneys? Don’t worry, we’ll get to that. But as a counterpoint to all of that inherent darkness, here’s a splash of brightness and vividity for you.…

have you ever seen a MINI at a gym? No, neither have we, what a ridiculous concept, right? And yet, looking at this Pepper White R56, that seems to be exactly what it’s been doing. That stance, the pumped-up arches, it looks like it’s been doing some seriously heavy lifting, and there’s more to this MINI than just those sculpted looks. It’s got the automotive muscle where it counts, and this is the complete performance package. That this MINI is so finely honed comes as no surprise when you discover that owner Geoff Clement is himself both a gym owner and personal trainer, so it’s no wonder his MINI is in such good shape. For Geoff, MINIs and Minis have always been in his peripheral vision, something he’s appreciated but…