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Mini Jem Mk1 know as 'Mae West' is the Find of the Year 2025

Well known Mini Marcos Mk4 now offered for sale

Stimson's Stories (8) The Stimson Snow Bug

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Happy New Year from Maximum Mini

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Minis at the 'Ring (9) 

Freed Unipower GT back in the show scene

Your votes please!

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 Maximum Mini Find of the Year 2025: These are the candidates

Camber GT and Maya GT: windscreen and its origins

Twin-engined Bufi-Mowog in action in 1968

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Maximum Mini Find of the Year 2024: Siva Mule prototype

The same car when new (top) and as found (bottom)

Picture Jeroen Booij

Splash out in 2025! 1st owner Wood & Pickett Mini Margrave for sale

Picture Car and Classic

Splash out 2! Barn find Mk1 Mini Jem for sale, too

Picture Jeroen Booij archive 

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Maximum Mini Find of the Year - the voting is open

Picture Frank Markowitz

So many Mini Jems for sale! 

Picture collage Jeroen Booij

Original owner buys back his Mk1 Stimson Mini Bug

Picture Mark Glover

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10 Years since SHADO Jeep find on Tenerife

In the mailbox: Paola GT, Sandringham Six, Phoenix City Car

Ogle SX1000 meeting: this summer

Find of the Year 2023: the candidates

Ho-ho-ho, it's that time of year again! The time to traditionally decide which has been the best find of a Mini based car in the past 12 months. We've been doing it for the last 13 years, but this is the first time the poll is sent to the Maximum Mini Newsletter subscribers first. But... the more the merrier, and the better for the poll's results, so let me know what you think, too. 

You will know the drill by this time: the car with the most votes simply wins the 'Maximum Mini Find of the Year 2023' title. Over to the five selected candidates: Just drop me a line below, on Facebook or through my e-mail to tell me which of these is your favourite.

A Siva Buggy that has been hiding in a barn since 1982. Full story here

A Mk1 Biota put away in storage by its first owner in 1974! Full story here 

The first of the Bulanti Minis resurfaced in Australia in February. Full story here

 Not exactly a barn find, but thorough research revealed this Mini Marcos to be the 

actual 1967 Targa Florio car. Full story here

Original USA sold Ogle SX1000 has been languishing in Pennsylvania. Full story here

Happy 2023 - Unipower GT is Find of the Year

All of the best for the New Year to Maximum Mini readers world wide! 

This weblog is now in its 12th year and with almost 1,500 articles online an ever-growing source on anything about Mini based cars. 

With exactly 40% of the votes you chose the Unipower GT as the Best Find of 2022, so congratulations to the car's owner. I understand there has been a bit of an argument within the family about selling or keeping the car and they have decided to stay with it and give it the restoration it needs, which is nice and I hope to report about that soon. I also understand that it was another ex-demonstrator car for a Unipower distributor and it was originally owned by a man named Douglas Bruce, who supposedly sold it to a stuntman next. It would be lovely to hear more about that, too. 

This recently recovered Unipower GT was chosen as the Maximum Mini Best Find of 2022

Picture courtesy Matt Philips

The same car back in the days when it was almost new. It hasn't changed too much

Picture courtesy Tim Carpenter

Find of the Year 2022: the candidates

One of the traditions after almost 13 years of Maximum Mini online (!) has become the election of the 'Find of the Year'. Many barn-, shed-, garden- and field-finds have come along since day one and I've selected another five cool discoveries for this year's voting. 

As every year: to vote simply drop a message below or send me an e-mail if you like. The car with the most votes wins the prestigious title 'Maximum Mini Find of the Year 2022'. So... over to the 5 candidates:

Rare Mk1 Stimson Mini Bug, one-family owner since the early 1980s

Full story here

Unbuilt TiCi in the USA with links to some great Mini motoring heritage

Full story here

One of two Unipower GTs that were freed after long-term storage, this one in the UK

Full story here

Camber GT first heard about in 2011 but now finally photographed in its barn hiding

Full story here.

A one-off Hooper Mini Moke built for a knighted racehorse breeder

Full story here

Happy 2022 - Deep Sanderson is Find of the Year 2021

Happy New Year! 

We have a winner here: the Deep Sanderson 301 found in Mexico-City last year received the most votes for the Maximum Mini Find of the Year contest, so congratulations to its finder Henry Davis and owner Victor Milke. 

Victor is a happy man: "Dear Jeroen: Happy new year! May it be a great one! Thanks for the results on the poll. I am glad the car community has an interesting project to restore... and eventually I will get to my task. The idea still is to restore it as a regular driver, not a racer. So far, only gathering a few parts. I bought a steering wheel that could work on it and switches and small bits so far. Best wishes! Victor"

Maximum Mini Find of the Year 2021: the Deep Sanderson 301 of Mexico-City

Picture courtesy Victor Milke

The car was unearthed from its long-term hiding place in March last year

Picture courtesy Victor Milke

Find of the Year 2021: the candidates

Well-well, 2021 was a remarkable year when it came to long-lost Mini based cars. With 24 exciting discoveries in sheds, barns, gardens and woods the number of Mini derivatives being rediscovered keeps on growing. It's not easy to make a top-5 with so many exiting finds. From Broadspeed GT to Magnum Spectre, and from pairs of Ranger Cubs, ABC Tricars as well as Scamp six-wheelers to the unique AC Donington.

Like last year, I found a few cars myself with Belgium proving to be excellent finding ground: there was the 1967 Cox GTM in a garage in Belgium, the sole GTM 'Euro' Coupe in a Belgian lock-up and the Ogle SX1000 which was originally sold to Belgium and had always remained there. But there was also the Guinness World Record 'blind drive' RTV in bramble bushes in England and the Dutch Barclay Mini Bug.

Now, to vote simply drop a message below or send me an e-mail if you like. The one with the most votes wins the title 'Maximum Mini Find of the Year 2021'. Over to the 5 candidates.

Pellandini number 1. The first and only space framed Pellandini as built by Peter Pellandine in Australia was one of three Pellandinis resurfacing recently, this one with an Aussie crash repairer. (full story here)

The Ogle Mini prototype. A one-owner car for more than 50 years, this is believed to be the first Ogle Mini built. It was sold last May with the restoration starting straight away. (full story here)

The Ogle SX1000 in Belgium. Another Ogle with another unusual story. This one spent all of its life in Belgium after being sold by Mini racer Julien Vernaeve there when new (full story here)

The Deep Sanderson 301 in Mexico. This was one find I could hardly believe myself - a Deep Sanderson 301 road car in a very original state resurfaced in Mexico-City in March. (full story here)

The Nimbus Coupe prototype. The prototype that was later turned into a successful racer by Gary Shillabeer was freed from bramble bushes in rural Dorset in May. (full story here)

Fisher GT is Find of 2020

First of all: happy 2021 to you all! 

Let's hope the new year will be a good one for all and perhaps slightly less challenging...

Unfortunately I received very few votes for the 'Maximum Mini Find of the Year' election, and wonder if you guys want me to stop the tradition. In past years I received well over 100 votes, but this time there were just 20 or so, making it in my opinion not a very exiting poll. I'd almost forgot to mention that the Lotus-Fisher GT won. Congratulations to Dan Stokes, who found the car in Southampton in October!

Oh - I also had a Find of the Decade poll when Maximum Mini had its 10th anniversary as a blog. Again, a disappointing number of votes but still 44. The Le Mans Mini Marcos (found 2016) won with 18 votes. 

Lost and found: the Fisher GT was rediscovered last year. It's the Maximum Mini Find of 2020

Picture: Dan Stokes / Maximum Mini archive

What is the Best Find of 2020?

The end of 2020 is getting near, which means it's time to make up what's the best find of the past year here - a real Maximum Mini tradition. 2020 has proved to be an absolute record year for finds, with 29 Mini variants described here and a few more that I have not yet written about. It is remarkable what came out of sheds, lock-ups, gardens and garages and it wasn't particularly easy to choose just 5. You will find the cars that have made it to the contest below. To vote simply reply to me by email or drop a message below. The one with the most votes wins - it's simple as that. Now, over to the candidates.

Finally found in March this year in rural Worcestershire: the Micron GT. Full story here

Picture Jeroen Booij

Another long-lost car found in April 2020: the ex-Dagobert Swensson Cox GTM. More here

Picture Magnus Larsson

Pellandini found back by former owner David Mottram Down Under in June this year. More here

Picture David Motram

A totally unexpected find: the Lotus Fisher GT survived, or so I learned in October. More here

Picture Dan Stokes

2020 was a good year for myself, too. Apart from the Micron GT, I found a forgotten Mini Jem and the long-lost Biota Mk1 'Dutch demonstrator' in November. More here

Picture Jeroen Booij

Maximum Mini - Find of the Decade

2020 has been a remarkable year so far. And not just for virus-reasons, but also for finding back forlorn Mini based cars. Up until now more remarkable cars have made it to the finds list on here then ever before, with a few more stories of discoveries coming up soon. As tradition dictates we'll have the now-established 'Find of the Year' election here in December. 

But how about the last decade? Many more Mini derivatives were found through the years, and I thought it would be nice to list the 'Find of the Year' winners of the last 10 years here again. What's more: which one do you consider to be the best out of these? In other words: what will be the Maximum Mini Find of the Decade? You decide. Send your answers below in the comments, or reach me through any other way you like. 

UPDATE 2 January 2021: It's official - the Le Mans Mini Marcos is the Maximum Mini Find of the Decade. Thanks to all who brought in their vote.

2010 - The Beach Car prototype found in a Greece scrapyard. More here

2011 - The unspoilt Cox GTM found in a Cheshire garage. More here 

2012 - The mystery Maya GT found in a Kent garden. More here

2013 - The Mini Jaba found in a Spanish scrapyard. More here

2014 - The Mean Sonora BMC found in a Belgian garden. More here

2015 - The Landar R7 found in a lock-up in Germany. More here

2016 - The 1966 Le Mans Mini Marcos found in Portugal. More here

2017 - Dame Margot Fonteyn's coachbuilt Mini found in the UK. More here

2018 - The Peel Viking 'Dutch demonstrator' in a German barn. More here

2019 - Project X found in an Australian lock-up. More here