Maximum Mini: An early Pavesi Mini

Carrozzeria Pavesi of Milano undertook some daring coachbuilding jobs. They chopped off the roof of brand new DeTomasos, Ferraris and Iso Grifos and turned a Maserati Quattroporte (the name meaning ‘four doors’ in Italian) into a two-door coupé... And they also equipped a number of Minis into ultra-luxurious small cars with extravagant leather interiors, electrically operated windows and sunroofs plus dashboards and centre consoles in wood with Veglia gauges. Twelve are believed to have been built but I'd never seen an early car such as this one below. The pictures were shared by GAM ShineDetailing of Scandicci near Florence, which did a great job polishing it.

Like the other Pavesi Minis I have seen this one looks to be Innocenti based also, but being a Mk1 it is earlier than any of the others I've come across. It is striking in its burgundy colour with an ivory leather interior and light wood details (look at that centre console!). The hand brake lever has been replaced to the left hand side of the driver's seat, which on its own looks to be sourced from a non-British car. The headlining is nice, too, and the heater looks to be something special as well (Update: it's a classic Bakelite telephone!). Quite a car!