Spanish Sprint - what's its background?

An interesting message about an interesting MiniSprint came in from Spain last week:

"Hello Jeroen. My name is Jose and I am a Spanish Mini collector located in Barcelona. I have a very nice collection with some very good cars. I am writing to you to learn if I can find out more about my 1967 Austin Cooper 'S' MiniSprint. This car has been in a garage for 30 years and I recently purchased it but found not much about its history. I don't want to bore you with many words but if you can help me identify who was the preparer of my car, thank you very much. If you need any more information, I'll give it to you."

By this time I have been in touch with Jose as I still wanted to know a bit more about the car's background. A Heritage Certificate learns us that it was based on a genuine 1275 Cooper 'S' export model built on 30 March 1967 and despatched to Spain on 23 May 1967, left hand drive of course. It wasn't registered in Madrid until November 1968. The Cooper's original colours were Old English White with a black roof and a red and gold brocade interior. Then there's a gap in the car's history until 10 years later when Juan Puiggali bought the Sprint in 1978 at a Peugeot sale in Alicante or Valencia. Puiggali remembers the seller at the time telling him it had been used for hill climbing, but that's about it. The car was painted grey / metallic gold at the time and Puiggali bought it and repainted it again, this time in Almond Green. Fast forward to 2019 and Puiggali sells the Sprint to our man Jose. He strips down the retrimmed interior only to find the original brocade interior beneath it...

Not bad, but still it leaves plenty of questions. I would mostly love to know if this car was originally modified as a MiniSprint back in 1967 prior to finding its first owner in Spain? Timewise this is well possible. I also know that there were at least two dealers for the (Walker) MiniSprint in Spain: Garage Serrano in central Madrid and Garage Sub-Way in Rosellón, both dealers of the Broadspeed GT also. In 1967 there was also a white Walker GT MiniSprint on display at the Barcelona Motor Show, but this car was equipped with the square headlights, so I don't think it will be the same car. Last but not least there is said to have been a MiniSprint on display at the 1968 Bilbao Trade Show, but I have never seen any evidence. So that's it for now. Any more information would be highly appreciated by Jose and myself.

MiniSprint is based on an original 1275 Austin Cooper 'S' sold to Spain when new in 1967

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

The car is said to have been hill climbed in Spain between 1968 and 1978 but info is sketchy

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

Current licence plates date back to November 1968. Paint colour changed at least twice

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

It is an original Austin Cooper 'S' according to the Heritage Certificate also

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

Seats were retrimmed in black vinyl but look what came out behind that!

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

Retrimmed interior... We'd love to know the early history of this Spanish Sprint. Who knows more?

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

More action shots of Spanish Unipower GT

A series of photographs of that Barcelona-registered Unipower GT raced in Spain in the 1970s was uploaded on the world wide web recently by Miquel Brunells junior, who's father - Miquel Brunell senior - raced it throughout the 1973 season. More, including moving images can be seen here. I do not know the exact locations where these photographs were taken, but Brunells entered it in at least four events at Montserrat, Castillo Montjuich, Sant Cugat-Tibidabo and Montseny that year.

Picture Miquel Brunells jr. / brunellscompeticio.com

Picture Miquel Brunells jr. / brunellscompeticio.com

Picture Miquel Brunells jr. / brunellscompeticio.com

Picture Miquel Brunells jr. / brunellscompeticio.com

Picture Miquel Brunells jr. / brunellscompeticio.com

Picture Miquel Brunells jr. / brunellscompeticio.com

Picture Miquel Brunells jr. / brunellscompeticio.com

Picture Miquel Brunells jr. / brunellscompeticio.com

Serra MG Crazy is perhaps not quite so crazy

You know I squeeze in an Austin or Morris 1100 based vehicle here every now and then and I think it's time for just another now. Keeping in with the Spanish theme of earlier this week (Mini Jaba, click here), let's have a look at the MG Crazy. This was an MG 1300 based car built by Spanish coachbuilder Pedro Serra.

I found out that Serra had been offering a plush variant of the MG 1300 (the Spanish version as built by Authi of Pamplona) for some time in the 1960s. This was called the MG 1300 'Equiped by Serra' and came with the usual lavish coachbuilder's stuff. Leather, wood, carpeting, chrome plus the necessary extras such as wheel covers, sun roof and foggies.

But it didn't stop there. In 1969 Serra launched a full conversion of the MG 1300, now named MG Crazy. This was quite something else. Again, it was based on an Authi built car, but all of its original body had gone to make place for a brand new one in the style of a 1930s roadster. Not unlike the Siata Spring which came sometimes earlier and certainly also not unlike the MG 1300 based Magenta, which saw the light of day in Yorkshire three years later. It really makes you wonder if Mister Magenta Steve Johnson (click here) was inspired by the Serra design!

Anyway: the car was launched at the 1969 Barcelona Motor show and Pedro Serra hoped for production. That didn't happen. It was relaunched two years later at the same show in a slightly modified variant - just visible in a movie clip (click here and see it at around 0:30). Still, it never became a succes. Supposedly because it was too costly to build. Just 3 to 6 MG Crazy's are believed to have been made, but I wouldn't be surprised if there were even less. One was on show on a Serra themed display at the Barcelona Classic car show in 2017 and that's the one seen here.
I would like to find out more. Who helps me?

MG 1300 'Equipped by Serra' was a coachbuilt version of the Spanish made Authi MG 1300

Picture todocolleccion.net

El Fabuloso - the fabulous - Serra MG 1300 has to be rare. Who did ever see one one?

Picture todocolleccion.net

And then there's this: the Serra MG Crazy, as seen on the 2017 Barcelona Classic Car show

Picture Pere Nubolia photography

Small retro roadsters were a thing in the late-1960s, early-1970s. Think Magenta, think Siata Spring

Picture Pere Nubolia photography

Neat interior cannot totally hide its MG 1300 origins. I wonder if its body is GRP or aluminium?

Picture Pere Nubolia photography

MG Crazy - that has to be one of the crazier names ever to have graced a car

Picture Pere Nubolia photography

This example was seen in Barcelona in 2017. Who knows more? Note historical photos left

Picture Pere Nubolia photography

A different car, or the same? This was taken during the 1971 Barcelona Motor Show

Picture RTVE.es / Filmoteca Espanola

Mini Jaba restoration - an update

Spanish reader and Mini Marcos owner Adrian sent me some photographs of the Mini Jaba's restoration. This was the car found in a Spanish scrapyard in 2013 (click here). It's looking not too bad I think. Adrian, who emphasizes the car is not owned by himself but by his friend Lorenzo Jejeje, adds: "But we are still looking for information and photographs from 1971, when the car was exposed on Salon Elegancia de Barcelona 1971." I'd love see more of that, too.

Much converted rear side came with 'Landau' roof and modified boot lid with spare

Picture courtesy Adrian 

The front was even wackier, with GRP flip front and cycle wings in a 1930s style

Picture courtesy Adrian 

The Mini Jaba now needs a full restoration, but more information is still welcome

Picture courtesy Adrian 

Broadspeeds of Spain, where are you?

I wrote about it before on these pages (click here), but so far there is no news that I know of about the Broadspeed GTs that were exported to Spain. Several sources claim that quite a few ended up there, but I have never heard of a survivor there. There were dealers, that's a fact. Several garages were marketing the Broadspeed GT in Spain. I already had some old ads from them, but Cristian Sanmartin Castro recently sent me a few more clippings. 

So far, I found the following dealerships/garages offering the GT in Spain:

Garage Nadal, Mallorca

Auto Paris S.L., Barcelona

Garage Serrano, Madrid

Garage Sub-Way, Rosellon, Barcelona

Who knows more?

The 'Broaspeed' advertised by Garage Nadal on the isle of Mallorca

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

And another ad from Nadal that mentions the Broadspeed Mini 

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

This is a 1966 clipping from a Spanish newspaper about the Broadspeed GT

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

Another dealer, Auto Paris SL, had the car, too, although naming it 'Broatepeet'

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

And yet another: Garaje Serrano, who also dealt with Rob Walker or so it seems

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

And yet another - Victor Palomo Monegal of Bacelona advertised with 'Brand new import cars', among them Broadspeed, Walker MiniSprint and Marcos cars...

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

Unipowers for sale

I get often asked if I know of a certain Mini based car for sale. Mind you: I'm no dealer and am not too much interested in the buying and selling side of cars. But now all of a sudden no less than three Unipower GT owners asked me to see if I know somebody to buy their cars. The first two asked me to do so in private, so I can't say much about them here unless you are really interested and prepared to pay top prices for top cars (which they both are - drop me a line if you are) - sorry!

But the third of them can be shared here freely. That car, chassis number 36713, is a Mk1 and is one of a few cars delivered to Spain (see one here, one here, another here and yet another here) and prepared as a race car from the start. This one actually was the car entered in the 6-hour race of Barcelona and later owned by Spanish MP Miguel Arias Cañete. It's been modified and, for example, now misses the signature gear lever placed into the door sill. But it seems to be a fantastic car to me overall. What's more: it comes with full FIA papers and is ready to race. See the ad here. Oh - and do bring it over to Blyton Park next year when you buy it!

Flares, fat tyres and FIA papers: this Unipower GT road legal racer is for sale

Picture courtesy Patrick Kaufmann

The same car during the Barcelona 6 Hours of 1968. It's always had the same registration

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

One Unipower GT that does survive in Spain

Not much information comes with these two pictures, but at least it's good to see that 'B-570090' survives. Or seems to do so. It's one of several Unipower GTs that came to Spain. Here's another Barcelona-registered one, plus one from Madrid and another on Madrid plates. Even Spanish EU commissioner Miguel Arias Canete has one! And then there were several Unipowers that were raced in Spain. This one in the '68 Barcelona 6-hour race and the one below at an unknown place and time. More info? You know where to find me.

Barcelona-registered Unipower is one of several cars that made it to Spain

Picture via Xavi Enrich

Dusty but looking good. Who knows more about this Unipower?

Picture via Xavi Enrich

This is believed to be another Spanish Unipower GT, but again, there's no more information

Picture source unknown

The Latin Landar

It appears that Spain has had its fair share of Mini derivatives. We know there was this Unipower which also appeared in a funky movie, there have been some Broadspeed GTs; about a year ago we reported about the Mini Jaba found in a derelict state, while there was also a rare AMC Cub six-wheeler. Then there was a Spanish Mini Beach Car and there were a couple of Scamps owned by King Carlos. More recently a nice coachbuilt Mini emerged in Barcelona.

Avid reader Peter Camping now comes up with a Landar R6 that raced the Montjuich circuit during the Barcelona 12-hour race of October 5, 1969. Peter writes: "The Landar is named GT but I assume it's an R6. I found out about it as I was looking for more information about an F100 car which mentioned a certain David Boler with a car named Boler-BMLC (see scan). I found out that he drove this Landar in Barcelona. On your blog of 27 September 2012 I also noticed a D.E. Boler who raced a Cox GTM (see here) and I also recall reading about a Boler winning a North Yorkshire championship with a GTM - the same man?" The Landar, an R6 indeed, was raced together with a J. Stuart Whitehead.

Remarkably, not one but two Unipower GTs were entered to the same 12-hour race. One of them was a works car driven by Piers Weld-Forester and Robert Hurst, another a privately entered car driven by De Agustin and Alvarez. The latter did not arrive on racing day, while the works car did not finish the race. Also interesting is the Nerus entered Silhouette-BLMC mentioned on the 1970 Brands Hatch race sheet, as that car is linked to the Camber and Maya GT (see here). Thanks Peter for sharing these very interesting pictures. Wouldn't it be nice to find out more about the Landar?

The Landar R6 of David Boler and J. Stuart Whitehead in action at Montjuich

Picture via Peter Camping

And here about to overtake (?) a Costin Nathan sports car - similarly rare!

Picture via Peter Camping

Note that the Boler/Whitehead Landar R6 has a much-modified front end

Picture via Peter Camping

Boler came 10th at Brands. Nerus Silhouette-BLMC is interesting, too

Picture via Peter Camping

Mini Jaba is Best Find of 2013

Well-well. This year's Christmas puzzle was not cracked - although previous winner Paul Wylde came pretty close - so I guess I'll have to make next year's easier again. Fortunately there is a winner of 'Best Find of 2013'. 164 Votes came in this time, and 49% of them went to the Mini Jaba, found in Barcelona last October (click here). Meanwhile a slight little bit more information about the car has come available. In fact the patent file has been unearthed recently, see a fragment below. It's all in Spanish in the first place, but strangely it doesn't mention a Mini as the car's base but a VW Beetle! I hope to find out more about the car and its destiny soon.

A part of the Mini Jaba's patent - it doesn't mention a Mini!

Picture via Xavier Enrich

Mini Jaba found in a scrapyard

Barcelona based Mini enthusiast Xavier Enrich dropped me a line yesterday about an odd Mini that was found in Spain recently. Some pictures were posted on a website, too, mentioning this may be a possible 'Mini Broadspeed Foral' - whatever that may be. Xavier added: "It seems to be a modified Authi Mini Mk2" and I'm sure he's right there. What's more: I know a bit more about the car in question.

This actually is the Mini Jaba, made by a company called 'Transformaciones Jaba' in the early 1970s in Navarre. The Jaba was meant as a neo-classic mimicking a 1930s car but based on the Mini. It was shown on the Barcelona Motor Show of 1971 and made it to a Barcelona concours, too, see picture below. The car on that photograph comes with the same fibreglass flip front, front fenders and headlights. It also has the same Dunlop wheels and comes with a chrome horn or grab handle on its side - the green car appears to have holes on the same place. The roof conversion, however, looks different. Was there an overhanging drop top fitted? Looking at the rear of the scrap yard car you can see this could well be possible. There was clearly some sort of Landau roof one day. The modified boot lid seems to have carried a spare wheel, too. That fits the 1930s theme well.

But is it the same car? Below the green paint there are clearly traces of white. However, with what looks like green carpets and seats inside it could well be that this car has been green for longer - making the concours car possibly another one. Unfortunately I don't have any more information and so it would be nice to learn if anyone out here does. Fact is that this is definitely a contender for 'Find of the Year'!

Found in a Spanish scrap yard: this is a Mini Jaba - inspired by the Magenta?

Picture courtesy foromini.minibcn.net

The car is based on an Authi Mini Mk2. Roof and boot lid are heavily converted

Picture courtesy foromini.minibcn.net

Interior, too, is much altered. Note quilted door paddings and green carpets

Picture courtesy foromini.minibcn.net

The Mini Jaba was mimicking a 1930s car. Here seen in Barcelona in 1971

Picture source unknown

Yet another Mini Beach car variant!

You must have noticed that an awful lot has been written and said about the Mini Beach car lately. Not in the last place because the prototype was found in a scrap yard in Greece a while ago (exiting story here and here). The daunting restoration of that car will actually be finished one of these days, so keep an eye on these pages. But I'm sure you will agree it was least as nice to find out that Mini Beach cars weren't limited to the not-too-sunny UK. There was an Italian Innocenti based variant, too. And again you could read all about these cars here (click!), including the discovery of a fourth example of this rare car in the USA (here). I hope I do not over exite you with these findings.

Hold on, 'cause were not there yet. Now that Summer is approaching it is about time to unveil a third variant of the Mini Beach Car. Not from Longbridge, not from Milan, this time it comes from... Spain. Oh yes. Over there in Gavà - right on the Catalan coast and just miles from Barcelona - a coachbuilding company named Arco Iris Autos built it. Reader Xavi Enrich, who lives in Catalunya himself, made me aware of one such car when it was offered for sale a couple of months ago. He says he knew of another purple coloured example that had been on display in the show room of a Barcelona driving school for years, too. It seems that the one shown here at least was based on an Authi Mini 1000, built in Pamplona, Spain. But apart from that Spanish base, the conversion too is very different from its British and Italian siblings. There's a roll bar rather then a roof, there's no wicker inside and the door openings are round and have been welded shut with wide metal strips. They do have ropes to keep passengers from falling out, though, archetypical for a Beach car. Crude you say? According to Xavi the finish was actually very good.

Oh, it is said to have been built in 1975. Would I like to learn more about these Spanish Beach cars? Of course I would. Now, vamos a la playa!

Spanish built Beach car is based on Authi Mini, made under BMC's licence in Spain

Picture courtesy www.segundamano.es

Round door openings, a roll bar and signature rope to keep passengers in. But no wicker

Picture courtesy www.segundamano.es

A Unipower in Catalunya

From what I understand is that originally 3 Unipower GTs made it to Spain. Or perhaps only 2 made it to Spain and 1 to Catalunya, as a film on youtube now proves of the existence of a GT in that autonomous part of Spain. The car in question was driven in the 1973 season by local boy Miquel Brunells who'd previously raced a Mini known as 'The Soap Pill' in and around the local mountains and on the track in Barcelona's long distance races. He became a local champion in 1970 and 1971 and even won a national championship in 1972, leaving much bigger machinery behind. However, for the 1973 season Brunells decided he needed something new. A Unipower GT became his weapon of choice and the car's original 998cc engine is swapped for the 1275 unit of Brunells Mini, supposedly good for 90hp. The GT is entered in four road races in the 1973 season: Montserrat, Castillo Montjuich, Sant Cugat-Tibidabo and Montseny and during three of these events (it wears three different numbers) a camera man managed to shoot some footage of the low slung Mini derivative.

You can see it by clicking on the film below. Never mind the dreary music and feel free to skip the first two minutes or so when Brunell's Mini is depicted. Because the good bit starts at around 2:20 when the Unipower is shown in full Technicolour - like Brunell's Mini light yellow and green. I think it is some fantastic film with the car driven hard on twisty maountain roads (Brunells almost loses it at 3:31). I'd never seen something like it before with a Unipower in it.

After the yellow and green GT Brunells went on to drive a Brabham Formula 2, a Lola racer, rally Fiestas and Group 2 Escorts and even Ducati motorbikes. What happened to the Unipower? That's a mystery, or so it seems. One of the supossed 3 cars imported into Spain has been for sale for quite a while now but it is said not to be the Brunell's car (see it for sale here). Many thanks to Stef Wray for the tip and 'pepsimes' for uploading the video on youtube.
PS: what on earth is the thing at 3:26? A Morris Minor?!

UPDATE 29 July 2019: More pictures of Brunells in action in the Unipower here.

Miquel Brunells (1940-1993) dominated Catalan racing scene in the early 1970s

Picture courtesy Escuderia Auto Layetana

Brunells' 1275 powered Unipower GT during one of four road races in 1973

Picture courtesy Escuderia Auto Layetana

The car was road registered in Barcelona, here at the '73 Sant Cugat-Tibidabo race

Picture courtesy www.racing-files.com