Maximum Mini: Mini Coupe - made by Browne & Sons Ltd.

This car has found its way to Maximum Mini several times before. Last time was in 2015 (click here), when it was offered for sale in Connecticut, USA. I always thought it to be an ABS coupe-conversion but its background story was slightly different. ABS boss Tony Bucknall told me at the time it was made from the same moulding, but: "This is one of the conversions done by a company in Norfolk. I purchased a really strange set of body kit moulds and the roof moulding from a gentleman who had ceased trading several years prior. The only images I have seen where that Clubman which was used on a black and white advertising flyer."

Well, now that the car has been offered for sale once again, this time with auctioneers Barret Jackson, the mystery of that Norfolk company seems to be solved. From the ad: "The roof was replaced with a fiberglass unit. This alteration changed the roofline behind the front seats, making it more streamlined. The work was done early in the car's life in Norfolk, U.K., by Browne & Sons Ltd." The car was sold in auction last weekend, see the ad here.