There’s no denying that the original Mini is one of the most iconic cars ever built. And now David Brown Automotive, the English coach-building firm that brought us the Speedback GT (based on the Jaguar XKR chassis), has decided to put together a remastered rendition for anyone who wants to experience the good old days, but with a modern twist.
The remastered Mini is built by hand “from the ground up”, using brand new body panels, which David Brown Automotive says it refines in-house to create “smooth and accurate surfaces with perfect shut lines”.
The coachbuilder has furthermore “deseamed” the silhouette and welded in bespoke structural beams, with additional support struts added for rigidity. Each car has also undergone a “laborious” sound-proofing process.
Despite being fashioned from new, high-quality parts, the company insists that the Mini Remastered stays true to the original’s “spirit and personality”. Interestingly, though, a closer look will reveal that the indicators/park lights and taillamps have been replaced with LEDs.
Extended wheel arches, a centre-mounted exhaust, custom aluminium front grille and Minilite wheels add to the new model’s custom image, while the classic bullet-style wing mirrors even feature puddle lights.
The interior, meanwhile, gains a heavily revised design, including the addition of a seven-inch touchscreen infotainment system (complete with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto), upmarket leather upholstery, aluminium trim for many of the controls and a Mota-Lita wood steering wheel. Most foreign of all, however, is the smart key that controls the central locking and stop/start ignition.
Powering the Mini Remastered is a reconditioned version of the original 1 275 cc four-cylinder petrol mill, which has been refined to deliver 58 kW and 123 N.m of torque, giving it a claimed 0-100 km/h time of 11,7 seconds and a top speed of 145 km/h. Crucially, the gearbox has also apparently been swapped out for a new five-speed manual (as opposed to the original four-speed).
The Mini Remastered – complete with upgraded suspension and brakes – takes 1 000 man hours to assemble and costs £50 000 (about R855 600), before options. Two special editions, the Cafe Racer and Monte Carlo, will also be produced, each limited to 25 units. And the standard model? David Brown Automotive will only say that it will be “highly exclusive and built in strictly limited numbers”.
