What will happen to the Mini that time forgot?

IT'S like Indiana Jones meets The Italian Job. This story is so intruiging, I thought it needed bringing out of the classic car forums and onto these pages.

It begins deep underground, in a network of tunnels beneath one of Britain's biggest car factories, the former British Leyland plant at Longbridge. For years, a rather battered old Mini has sat down there, lonely and unloved, gathering dust for decades. It's been stripped of almost all of its useful bits and the roof's been bent in like a banana, but this Clubman version, not a million miles from the Seventies Minis you see above, is quite unlike any other. The Mini which nobody wanted is the last ever Mini to leave the factory.

How did it end up down there? Well, the story goes that when this Mini was being made, it fell off the production line at the factory, and rather than repair it the Longbridge workers ran it around the factory for a few miles and took whatever bits were useful off it to use on other cars.

When it was no longer deemed useful it was bundled off into the tunnel, which had been built in the 1940s to protect the factory workers - who were busy making ammunition rather than cars for a change - from the Luftwaffe. The Clubman that never was stayed in the tunnel right through the bitterest days of British Leyland, right through Austin Rover's tenure, remained unloved when BMW took over the reins and even remained ignored when MG Rover finally went bust in 2005. It's only now that a Mini enthusiast has had the tenacity to fish it out, and it's caused a bit of a fuore in the process.

Should the crumpled old heap, which had its roof stoved in after an unfortunate encounter with a shipping container, stay in that tunnel for posterity's sake? Should it be moved to a museum somewhere? Or should the car's saviour restore the old girl back to her former glory, even though for all sorts of boring legal reasons it can't actually be used on the road?

For what it's worth, I reckon it should come out, but I can't see many museums wanting to take on an exhibit that can't even be moved on its own wheels.

It'd take many of thousands of pounds to mend it properly and keep it original, but if someone's up for the exhaustion and expense then they've got my backing. It'd be great to see one last Mini - the Mini that time forgot - rev up its little A-Series engine in anger.

It's too good to be left abandoned in a tunnel forever.

2012 MINI Cooper Coupe by AC Schnitzer

 BMW Group tuning specialist AC Schnitzer has gotten a hold of a 2012 MINI Cooper Coupe and has wasted no time outfitting the tiny two-seater with off-the-shelf bolt-on upgrades. Surely, we can expect more comprehensive tuning in the form of body styling and engine performance enhancements, but we'll have to wait as they are currently in development. In the meantime, MINI Coupe owners can start to improve the already competent handling even more with AC Schnitzers limited slip differential, height-adjustable racing suspension, aluminium strut tower brace and rear axle antiroll bar. With improved handling a high performance brake system is also needed. 4-piston fixed calipers with slotted discs, upgraded brake pads, caliper holder and braided steel brake lines can be supplied while AC Schnitzer's Mi2 BiColor wheels in 18 inches or the Mi1 silver wheels in 17 inch can complete the suspension upgrades. Other components available include the AC Schnitzer complete sport exhaust system with chromed racing tailpipe trim from the MINI Cooper S and the John Cooper Works Coupe, "Technology & Design" sticker set, gear knob with digital gear display, aluminium pedal set, foot rests, handbrake handle and velours foot mats.

MINI embraces coupe style for new Paceman

FEAST your eyes on this - a sort of coupe version of the MINI Countryman.

The Paceman, which is closely related to the five-door soft roader but comes with a sleeker and sportier shape, is set to go on sale across the UK early next year, making it the seventh version of the the BMW-engineered baby. Just in case you've forgotten, here's the others; Cabriolet, Coupe, Countryman, Roadster, Clubman and the three door hatch that started it all.

A strict four seater, the Paceman will come with four engines - two petrol, two diesel - and the choice of six-speed manual and auto boxes, with the range-topping Cooper S Paceman packing a 184bhp punch and the ability to sprint to sixty in 7.5 seconds.

The Paceman goes on sale next March, with prices starting at £18,970.

The Mini show at Santa Pod was a drag for all the right reasons

YOU really needed earplugs to watch the jet car. The sound it made as it screamed past was utterly magnificent, but so loud it was actually painful.

Yesterday I thought I'd do something completely different to get my petrolhead kicks, which is why I jumped in the back of a mate's Saab for the long journey down the M1 to Santa Pod in Northamptonshire. The UK's home of drag racing was having one of its ‘Run What Ya Brung' days for Mini owners, called Mini In The Park.

The event does pretty much what it says on the tin - you pay a couple of quid, line your pride and joy up alongside someone else's pride and joy at the start of a quarter mile dragstrip, and see who gets to the other end first.

Even though I wasn't driving it was a joy to watch, particularly because there was definitely an unofficial element of Mini (the cheeky Brit runaround I've owned a couple of) versus MINI (the BMW-engineered city slicker of today). It was genuinely close stuff in some of the races - yes, the modern motor's got more power as standard, but the older cars came with all sorts of weird and wonderful modifications to make them go even faster. When one new MINI made a blistering start, only to make a large bang and deposit several expensive-looking bits of intercooler along the run, I wasn't sure if I was meant to laugh or cry.

A really quick run in a hotted-up Mini was somewhere between 10 and 15 seconds, but to appreciate the difference between really quick and a proper dragster you just had to see the jet car, a machine which manages to bend time because it's so brutally fast. I simply cannot believe it did a quarter of a mile in less than FIVE seconds, but it did, doing 265mph when it crossed the line! To put it into perspective, that's nought to the top speed of a Bugatti Veyron Super Sport in a quarter of the length of Lord Street in Southport in less than the time it'll have taken you to read this sentence. Surreal stuff.

Even though I'll make sure I bring some earplugs again next time, drag racing's definitely worth the 350 mile round trip. In car nut terms it was like Christmas had come early, only there was a different sort of Santa involved.

Life On Cars took these pictures of the event:

Fire up the... MINI Cooper S Roadster

DID the Great British Summer end ages ago or is yet to begin? Thanks to heatwaves, floods, droughts, downpours and landslides, I doubt anyone's really sure.

One thing, however, continues unabated during the country' greener months - our unusually optimistic take on it all, probably best expressed automotively through our generations of small and not-at-all-leaky sports cars. It's a mantle MINI's keen to take on with their latest addition to the small car family, a two-seater ragtop roadster aimed at the keen driver.

Posing's a big part of what sporty cars like this are all about and on this front it's usual MINI fare, with a short, stubby stylishness on the outside and lots of chunky rocker switches on the inside. To my mind it looks better than its tintop sister, the MINI Coupe, because it swaps that car's hideous baseball hat roof for neat, electrically-powered soft top that's a doddle to operate.

It's also a doddle to drive and as keen to attack corners as the rest of its MINI sisters, although I can't help feeling that if it's driving fun you're after than the 2.0 litre version of Mazda's MX-5 will offer you more thrills for the same sort of money as the Cooper S version's £19,000 asking price. That said, the rear-wheel-drive roadster can't compete with the MINI on looks or interior ambience.

Ironically, the MINI Roadster's biggest rival in my books comes from within, in the larger and more familiar shape of the MINI Cabriolet. No, the Cabriolet can't offer the same sharpness in the corners but it's still an absolute joy to drive, and it offers space for four and a bit more space for your bags. If I wanted a sports car I'd go for that infernal Mazda, but if I wanted an open-top MINI, hand on heart, I'd go for the Cabriolet.

That said, if your heart's set on enjoying the added aesthetics and agility of the MINI Roadster during what's left of summer, you won't be disappointed.

How a Mini Moke fan from Bootle became Britain's newest car manufacturer

A BOOTLE man has become Britain's newest motoring manufacturer after he put a cult classic car from the 1960s back into production.

Charles Andersen said that he has been able to start remanufacturing the AMC Cub, an open-top fun car modelled closely on the original Mini Moke, for the first time in 20 years after he secured a new supply of parts.

He told Life On Cars: “As far as I know nobody else in the country in the country is making anything else like this - all the other firms who were building Mokes like these shut down years ago, so it's something that's completely unique.

"The reaction you get people when you drive it is incredible - everybody smiles and waves at you, and you get people beeping their horns at you as you go past. It takes a bit of getting used to, but it's a lot of fun."

Mr Andersen's firm, Andersen Motor Company, originally produced the Cub in the 1980s using parts from the Mini, but was forced to end production a decade later when the supply of parts for the cars dried up. It is only now, thanks to new parts being produced for the original Mini that he is able to put his car, similar to the Mini Mokes used in the hit ITV show The Prisoner, back into production.

He added that while other Mokes were available from Chinese firms, he added that his is the only one made in Britain and the only one to pass Individual Type Approval tests, including fully-tested seatbelts for both the front and rear seats. The car also uses the same engine as the Mini - a 1.3 litre A-Series engine, in this case lifted from an MG Metro - but just like the original Mini Mokes of the 1960s is not fitted with doors, windows or a roof.

 

A car fully built at Mr Andersen's Bootle factory will set you back around £12,000 - less than the cost of a brand new MINI - but aspiring engineers can build themselves one for as little as £4,000, using parts from an original Mini used as a donor car.

For more information about the AMC Cub, visit the Andersen Motor Company website online at www.amcgb.com or give Charles a call on 07903 573050.

Keep an eye on Life On Cars over the next few weeks for motoring correspondent David Simister's thoughts on what the Cub is like to drive. 

Tatton Park Classic & Performance Car Spectacular 2012

DAMP weather hasn't done anything to dampen the spirits of the hundreds of classic car fans who've been visiting Tatton Park this weekend, to visit one of the biggest shows and autojumbles in the north of England.

Tatton Park has long been a petrolhead favourite but this year showgoers are being treated to three days rather than the usual two, on account of the show being held on the Diamond Jubilee weekend. Street party or the chance to check out millions of pounds worth of stunning old cars - which would you rather take up?

Because journalists still have to work on the Bank Holiday Monday, Life On Cars went up earlier today to check out some of the best automotive attractions, and took these pictures:

 

The Classic & Performance Car Spectacular is also on tomorrow and Monday at the Tatton Park estate, near Knutsford, and is open between 10am and 4pm. Tickets cost £7.50 for adults, and car parking costs £5. For more information click here.

Life On Cars has had a whopping 4,000 online visits over the past month and to celebrate has something a little special on the way. Keep an eye on here over the next few days...

MINI John Cooper Works GP II promises to be a hot hatch hit

POWER. According to the Spiderman movies, having lots of it comes with great responsibility.

So it's a shame then that BMW's being tight-lipped about just how much responsibility the latest hot MINI will need to be entrusted with, because at the time of writing exact horsepower figures for the Cooper Works GP II are a little hard to come by. However, they are promising it'll be at least as hardcore as its illustrious predecessor from 2006, so chances are it'll be rather a lot.

The company proudly claims of its mightiest MINI yet: "Only once has there been anything like it, but even that wasn’t as quick. With the MINI John Cooper Works GP, the British premium brand has come up with another car of exceptional talent designed to deliver extreme performance on both the race track and the road.

"The sportiest road-registered MINI ever made will go on sale later this year in a limited run of 2,000 cars. It is currently completing a programme of testing in preparation for series production, part of which has involved setting an impressive fastest lap of the Nürburgring’s Nordschleife circuit."

So while there's no word on power it will have a limited production run, no back seats at all, beefed-up brakes and suspension and a scrabbly turbo engine based on the one you get in the normal Cooper S.

Oh, and a pricetag expected to be at least £25,000. Chances are though it'll be at least as collectable as the original from six years ago, though!

Hugh Buckingham: the man behind the MINI Clubvan

THE Southport signwriter who gave a helping hand to one of the world's biggest car makers has spoken to The Champion about his involvement with a new MINI show car.

Last week The Champion reported on a MINI concept van being displayed at this month's Geneva Motorshow featuring the work of a signwriting firm based in the resort - but despite our initial enquiries before last week's edition, BMW, the car's creators, remained tight-lipped about the story behind the project.

However, shortly after last week's edition reached our readers we were put in touch with Hugh Buckingham himself, who explained how a family connection to the firm helped him land a job decorating the vehicle, which will be given worldwide media attention when it forms the centrepiece of the MINI stand at the Swiss automotive show.

Mr Buckingham, who has spent more than 30 years working with vehicle graphics, said this week:

"My son John works for BMW as one of their designers, and when the company decided they wanted the graphics on the van to be authentic he pointed out that I work as a signwriter, and that's how the company got in touch with me. I'm amazed at the publicity the van's aleady had and am very proud to have been involved with it.

"The design I went for is almost a little anachronistic, because it's like something you'd see on a canal boat on a brand new concept car, but that's right for the MINI because it's a very traditional product. It's the first time BMW has ever cross-promoted another company in this way, but really the praise should go to their publicity department for coming up with the idea and managing to get so much attention drawn to it."

The vehicle, called the MINI Clubvan, is a modern recreation of the iconic Mini vans of the 1960s and has already received global attention, including a brief appearance on Top Gear last week when it was discussed by Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May.

If you've got an automotive story for The Champion contact motoring correspondent David Simister on 01704 392404 or send him an email at david.simister@champnews.com

Can you solve the MINI Clubvan mystery?

A SOUTHPORT sign writer is to have his work displayed to thousands of people at a prestigious show in Geneva - on the side of a new MINI concept car.

Visitors to this year's Geneva Motorshow will get to see the new MINI Clubvan - a small panel van in the same vein as the original Mini van of the 1960s - on display, which features vehicle graphics on the side which reads “Hugh Buckingham Sign Writer, Southport”, giving the resort worldwide attention after the concept car was announced this week.

MINI UK said in a statement: "The company featured on the MINI Clubvan Concept shown at Geneva ‘Hugh Buckingham Signwriter’ is a UK company, based in Southport which creates similar vehicle graphics for its customers.

"The Concept showcases how these might look on a MINI Clubvan."

However, when pressed by The Champion earlier this week MINI were unable to confirm any further details about the firm, or give any more details as to how the tie-up with the Oxfordshire-based car company came about.

The Champion also tried to track down the sign writing firm to hear more about the promotion its work would get through the MINI Clubvan concept, but despite efforts to track down the company no details could be found before this week's edition went to press.

Are you the Hugh Buckingham whose work is featured on the van? Get in touch with The Champion on 01704 392404 or send an email to david.simister@champnews.com

British Mini Club Show - Bingley 2012

IF YOU liked the Mini gathering in Llandudno a couple of weeks ago then you'll love these pictures from the British Mini Club Show, held yesterday at Bingley in Staffordshire.

While there parts aplenty for the serious enthusiast, and a chance to meet rally legend Paddy Hopkirk, for me the stars of the show came from the seemingly endless rows of old Minis, in every shape, size, colour and condition you could possibly imagine.

Life On Cars took these pictures at the show:


















For more information, check out the British Mini Club's excellent report on all the winners at the event.

Mini Wirral to Llandudno Run 2012

SCORES of small car fans descended on North Wales this weekend to show off a host of classic Minis in the seaside resort of Llandudno.

Life On Cars wrapped up warm, headed for the seaside and took these pictures of classic Minis galore for you to enjoy....
















Have you got a classic car event you'd like to promote? Get in touch with Life On Cars at david.simister@hotmail.co.uk