Innholdsfortegnelse for November 2023 i MiniWorld

As this issue of MiniWorld hits the shops, the UK’s show season will be winding down for the winter months. We’ve still got November’s Classic Motor Show at the NEC to look forward to, as well as plenty of all-year-round local meets taking place throughout the country; but with most of the major shows and events of 2023 having been and gone, Mini owners are now preparing their cars for another cold-months slumber. It’s been a great year for events and Mini tours, and we’ve thoroughly enjoyed getting out and about, catching up with old friends and making new ones. And this month’s MiniWorld has three more show reports, each of which took place in August and proved to be great fun for all involved. There really is nothing like…

This year’s Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show, which takes place at Birmingham’s NEC on November 10-12, will be offering visitors more motoring knowledge than ever before thanks to its new ‘Meet the Experts’ Theatre. The Theatre will cover a whole manner of subjects, from how to get started in classic motoring and using your classic for motorsport, to alternative fuels and debating restoration versus modification. There will also be discussions about the skills shortage, preserving our automotive heritage, and how we can attract more youngsters into classic motoring – both as a hobby and a career. Show director, Lee Masters, explains: “Whilst we want all of our visitors to be entertained, we also want them to leave the show knowing more than when they arrived. With such a wealth of…

Late-registered RSP The successful reintroduction of the Cooper was largely responsible for keeping the Mini alive until October 2000, with the RSP of 1990 marking the start of a remarkable renaissance. John Cooper was already selling tuning kits to Mini customers, particularly in Japan. News spread, and Rover Group asked John what he thought the company should do next with the Mini. The result was the Cooper RSP, featuring 1275cc power, bonnet stripes, a white roof and an upgraded interior. The RSP went into production as a limited edition of just 1650 cars, of which 1050 were sold in the UK. And the example you see here is surely one of the latest survivors, having been first registered in December 1992 – since when it’s covered just 9820 miles. According…

It’s unusual to see a Countryman or Traveller in the UK without wood trim. At the start of production in March 1960, they could be specified without trim only in overseas markets, but by October ’62 the same spec was finally made available to British buyers. The first owner of this all-steel Traveller paid a total of £566.8.6 for the car, with the Heritage Certificate confirming that it was made in ‘Basic’ specification for the right-hand drive home market, finished in Almond Green with a Porcelain Green interior, on June 4, 1964. The following day the Traveller was dispatched to Stewart & Ardern, based in Acton, London, and on August 8 it was delivered to its first owner, Gerald Elliott, of Sutton, Surrey. A couple of months later, however, it…

Of all the limited editions available to Mini buyers throughout its long production run, the logically named Thirty of 1989 remains one of the most sought after today. This was the special Mini that had it all – pearlescent paintwork, an opulent interior, extra chrome and unique badging. And with just 3000 set to be built for the UK market, the Mini Thirty also offered real exclusivity to the small-car buyer of 34 years ago. It’s lost none of its appeal over the decades, of course, with fans of the Mini Thirty eager to snap up any well-preserved survivors. Among them is 62-year-old Les Dimmock, who lives in Lower Stondon, Bedfordshire, and who for the last three years has owned the impressive example featured here. “I had my first Mini…

Countdown to IMM2024 Information on next year’s all-important International Mini Meeting (IMM2024) is coming thick and fast, with tickets now on sale for what promises to be a spectacular few days. According to Mini IG Bamberg, organiser of the event, there are already “over 2700 IMMers planning to come to Germany… and we’re looking forward to welcoming you with typical German hospitality”. The event takes place at Geiselwind in the Franconian region of Bavaria, from May 30 through to June 3. The central location is described as “an ideal place for Mini owners from near and far”, while the site itself benefits from recently improved facilities to make your stay even more enjoyable. All tickets originally purchased for IMM2020 (postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic) will remain valid. For anyone…

David Brown Automotive has announced another variation on its Mini Remastered theme, this time launching an EV version that carries a UK price tag of £150,000 including taxes. According to the company, this all-electric newcomer “sets new standards for zero-emissions, urban driving elegance”. The Mini eMastered is unusually lightweight for an electric vehicle, tipping the scales at just 640kg. Powered by a new Zonic 70 electric motor emitting 72kW (97hp) and 175Nm of instantly accessible torque, this latest EV offers “sprightly acceleration”, with a claimed 0-62mph time of 8.5 seconds and an electronically limited top speed of 92mph when Sports mode is selected. Aided by its lack of weight, the Mini eMastered delivers a WLTP-certified range of 110 miles from its 18.8kWh battery, allowing for numerous everyday city journeys on…

Prices include VAT Traders To get your products on these pages email: mw.ed@kelsey.co.uk. Post: MiniWorld, Kelsey Publishing Ltd, The Granary, Downs Court, Yalding Hill, Yalding, Kent, ME18 6AL, UK. (Prices include VAT). Power steering kits If you fancy adding a bit of modern-day convenience to your Mini driving experience, Mini Sport now offers its own electric power steering system – an upgrade that’s said to retain the Mini’s kart-like characteristics while offering “the perfect balance between assistance and feel”. Two different versions are available, with one covering 1969-96 models and the other designed for airbag-equipped Minis of 1997 onwards. Mini Sport reckons each kit is straightforward to install. Once fitted, says the company, it allows you to “experience a seamlessly integrated power steering system that feels so natural, you’d think…

We’ve often wondered what those early continental International Mini Meetings must’ve been like in the 1970s and early ’80s. Don’t get us wrong, we love the big IMMs; but there’s something special about the smaller, closer-knit events where a few hundred Minis fans from different countries are able to renew existing friendships and make new ones. Thankfully, in Mini Beer&Bretzel, there’s now a classic Mini event that fits that ethos perfectly in the 2020s. Those first IMMs mostly took place in Germany, but Beer&Brezel is located just a stone’s throw from the River Rhine at Camping du Canal, a welcoming site based in the small town of Kembs, in the Alsatian region of France. Organisers Sandra Wurtz and Jan Pettersson first hosted the event in 2022 to fill a void…

One of the biggest events in the Mini calendar enjoyed its 27th outing over the August bank holiday weekend, raising more than just smiles for the Children’s Hospice South West. Organised by the Small Cars Big Hearts crew, the event traditionally takes in some of the best driving roads across North Devon and its spectacular coastline, attracting thousands of onlookers to wave the Minis on. There’s barely a farm gate or village green that doesn't have a group of people there to cheer the convoy of 200 Minis and drop some pennies in the hard-working motorcycle marshals’ fundraising buckets. With a spectacular campsite overlooking Northam Burrows and the Bristol Channel, the event kicked off on the Saturday evening with a welcome run through the narrow streets of Appledore, just to…

Paul Martin’s love for the Mini began when he was just five years of age: “My first sight of a Mini was when my mum and dad bought a blue MkI, called Della,” he recalls. “It had a portable radio and you had to plug the aerial in for it to work. I vividly remember a freezing, snowy day when we had to go out in the Mini and there was a steep hill en route. A lot of cars had been abandoned as they were all stuck, but Della drove slowly up the hill right to the top without stopping. I thought that was amazing.” As an adult, Paul inevitably decided that he needed a Mini of his own: “When I started work I was able to buy my…

2023 November 2 Mod 'n' Mini Meet At London’s Ace Café on the first Thursday of every month. Good food and a great atmosphere. london.acecafe.com 10-12 NEC Classic Motor Show Annual end-of-season classic car extravaganza covering numerous halls at Birmingham’s NEC. Displays, live demonstrations, trade stands, autojumble, auction, concours, car club stands, plus many food and drink outlets. Expect stands from the Mini Cooper Register, British Mini Club and more. necclassicmotorshow.com December 7 Mod 'n' Mini Meet At London’s Ace Café on the first Thursday of every month. Good food and a great atmosphere. london.acecafe.com 2024 January 28 Mini Fair The British Mini Club reckons this is the UK’s biggest and best indoor Mini event, now in its 25th year. As well as Mini displays, club stands and concours competitions,…

With the Mini being mass-produced using manual assembly methods, as well as being built with less accurate tooling than today, the end result is bodywork that’s more prone to being out of line or slightly incorrect than most other cars. Add to this the inevitable tooling wear after many years of service, and we had Minis leaving the factory with ripples in panels (especially the rear side panels) and poorly fitting A-panels on MkIII-onwards cars. Door, bonnet and bootlid gaps (plus general fit) were not that great either. And after years of use, perhaps combined with some accident damage and poorly executed repairs along the way, the end result is a detrimental effect on overall appearance. The good news is that the extra work or attention required to make all…

The biggest Mini gathering on the island of Ireland is the two-day Causeway Coast Mini Weekend each summer. And the organisers really know how to turn it into a Mini adventure, with a fancy dress get-together on the evening before and a static show and popular cavalcade to round-off proceedings. Based around the seaside town of Portrush, it’s the cars on the move that get tourists and owners enthralled the most. Up until this year, a large portion of the route took place along a seafront footpath, but swelling numbers saw thoughts of safety kicking in, scuppering such plans. Instead, a new route towards Portstewart, along a section of the iconic NW200 motorcycle road race circuit, was installed. It finished at the pits area, with a welcome ice cream treat…