Now in Maximum Mini Newsletter #121

More Mini Jem from Canada

Blyton Park Action Day 2026

New Zealand motoring history for sale

Now in Maximum Mini Newsletter #63

What a great donation of historic photographs!

Mini Festival organizers looking for Broadspeed GT

And another 'Sprinted' Riley Elf

Eve is looking for her husband's old GTM

Now in Maximum Mini Newsletter #4:

New series starts: 'Minis at the 'Ring'

Part 1: the Deep Sanderson 301 Prototype

New Ogle badges now available 

Mystery MiniSprints in Japan

What could have been: 1965 BMC Mini Sprint GT

A wild MiniSprint replica is being built in a workshop named Hanbury Speed Shop, somewhere in the UK but with a window to the world on Instagram. That's pretty cool on it's own, but how about the builder's rendering for a Mini Sprint GT that he made? The only comment added: "1965 BMC Mini Sprint GT. Always been fascinated with the custom variations and Mini based kit cars that have been developed over the years. But what if BMC did their own back in the day?" Nice, isn't it?

It's only a rendering of what could have been a '1965 BMC Mini Sprint GT'

Picture Hanbury Speed Shop @ Instagram

Front or rear engined? I don't know, but I like the looks of this ultra-low Mini rendering

Picture Hanbury Speed Shop @ Instagram

Not just drawing: work on a wild Mini Sprint project takes place in Hanbury Speed Shop

Picture Hanbury Speed Shop @ Instagram

Neville Trickett passes away

I'm very sad to report about the death of Neville Trickett who passed away last Friday on the 27th of May at the age of 87. Trickett was in the first place the brainchild of the original MiniSprint in 1964 as he was the man who came up with the idea of a chopped, lowered and sectioned racing version of the Mini. He built the first batches of cars but left the Sprint project early in 1966 when it was in full swing and when the Sprint was marketed and sold by businessman Geoff Thomas and race-ace Rob Walker. By that time he'd also become a works driver for Isuzu and raced his own ultra-light MiniSprint on many occasions, attracting the likes of Stirling Moss and Graham Hill. It turned the low-line Mini into a great success although many unofficial MiniSprint were built by privateers also. Until recently Trickett himself was happy to build you one, though. All you had to do was bring a Mini shell to his chateau in Normandy, France, where he lived and a few months later you could pick it up again, fully cut, sectioned and gas-welded. Or 'Sprinted' as the fans called it.

But after the original MiniSprint project of the mid-1960s Neville Trickett had a hand in many more car designs, and several of these were Mini based, too. There was the Codford Mini, instigated by David De Souza in '66 but designed by Trickett who said he never saw the car in the flesh. It was followed by the (Ford powered) Opus HRF and a beautiful Imp-based sports car for Janspeed. By 1970 Trickett had set up Siva Engineering in his native Poole, Dorset, where he probably became world’s most prolific kit car designer of its day. Together with his business partner Michael Saunders he launched a whole line of Edwardian looking cars with Ford Pop, VW Beetle or 2CV power. Doctor Who of the BBC science fiction series famously drove one. There were also the gull-winged and wedge-shaped Siva sports cars derived from the Janspeed-prototype and these ranged from the VW-based Siva S160 to the unique Aston-Martin V8-powered Siva S530. The latter became the star of the 1971 London Motor Show at Earls Court but vanished soon after. I happened to bump into the car in a Warwickshire barn in 2011! And then there were also the Mini-based Siva Buggy as well as the Mini-based Siva Mule. 

I have often thought of going to Trickett's chateau in France for an interview but somehow and rather sadly it never happened. Neville must have been a lovely man though and we did have contact by e-mail every now and then. When I asked him a question he was always happy to answer it and mostly very swiftly and in great detail also. In the kit car world he was a larger-than-life character and one who will be much missed.

A young Neville Trickett in 1965 with his own MiniSprint racer

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

In the workshop at Rob Walker's garage in '65 with CCC editor Martyn Watkins

Picture Cars & Car Conversions / Jeroen Booij archive

Trickett in action at the circuit in 1966 in his famous MiniSprint racer

UPDATE: Believed not to be Trickett but a customer

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

The same car last March in Tokyo, where it is part of the Maruyama collection 

Picture courtesy Masayuki Arakawa

Neville Trickett at work in his chateau in France in 2018

Picture source unknown

Still working on Minis, he passed away at 87 last week

Picture source unknown

Minis were 'Sprinted' by many, but the only original came from Trickett

Picture source unknown

The 1966 Codford Mini was another Neville Trickett design - just three were made

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

It was followed by the 1970 Siva Buggy, again using Mini power...

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

...And the 1970 Siva Mule, a 'Mock-Moke' with fibreglass body

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

...And the Aston Martin powered Siva S530, which I found in a barn in 2011

Picture Jeroen Booij

The original MiniSprint brochure from GT Equipment Company

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

And one of the brochures for the Siva Buggy, called Minibug here

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

Trickett was a very prolific kit car designer. This rare brochure shows many of his cars

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

Autocrossing 1967

Thanks for several messages with links to two lovely videos from the 1967 Players No.6 Autocross Championship, showing some great action filmed that year. There's a number of Mini based cars to be seen in action and one of them is the infamous 'Golden Egg' as it was raced by Paul Kerridge. I'd like to do a more comprehensive article about that car soon.

Other brief but worthy appearances were filmed in Stafford and come from a Peel Viking with (fake?) number plate 'RED 1' (it's not this car is it?) and a typical autocross Special made by getting rid of as much of the Mini's bodywork as possible. Like Kerridge, the guy who races that thing is really pushing it! Last but not least there's what looks to be a home made but never the less very nice MiniSprint registered 'TON 1', too. Enjoy!

7616 RW became better known as The Golden Egg, raced by Paul Kerridge

Picture Roscoe Films / Hamish Racing / Youtube

This Ogle SX1000 was very successful in the hands of Kerridge of Shellford

Picture Roscoe Films / Hamish Racing / Youtube

It was built up using a crashed Mini Cooper with 1275 tuned by Don Moore

Picture Roscoe Films / Hamish Racing / Youtube

But what have we got here? Yes, that's a Peel Viking. Not so sure I've seen this one before

Picture Roscoe Films / Hamish Racing / Youtube

Could 'RED 1' be its real registration? Could it be this car in an earlier stage?

Picture Roscoe Films / Hamish Racing / Youtube

One of quite a few autocross Specials build from a Mini with very little bodywork left

Picture Roscoe Films / Hamish Racing / Youtube

It looks like a number of similar cars: the Clegg Special, Nova Special or LEDA1 

Picture Roscoe Films / Hamish Racing / Youtube

And another super cool registration: TON 1 is on what looks to be a home made MiniSprint

Picture Roscoe Films / Hamish Racing / Youtube

Video Roscoe Films / Hamish Racing / Youtube

Video Roscoe Films / Hamish Racing / Youtube

Visiting a reader in the UK

Reader Stephen Bulling got in touch just a year or two ago, and with such interesting messages that I was eager to catch up when in the UK next time. Despite the current rules making a visit to the country not particularly easy I did manage to do so last week and did meet up with Stephen in Essex. His hearth is full with Mini based cars and he owns a lovely little collection of them. Below is a selection of photographs of some of Stephen's cars, an Ogle SX1000, a Mini powered Davrian Mk7 and a Mini recently converted by Neville Trickett into a MiniSprint. Thanks for having me Stephen and taking the time to show me around.

Stephen was not the only person I visited in the country. Later this week I'll post some more pictures that were taken during another fabulous meeting. Stay tuned.

Stephen Bulling bought this Ogle SX1000 in 2007. It's now been fully restored

Picture Jeroen Booij

It is equipped with a 1275 with multipoint injection and airconditioning. He uses it!

Picture Jeroen Booij

An avid Maximum Mini reader, Stephen knows his Mini derivatives and owns several

Picture Jeroen Booij

Among them also this Davrian Mk7 racer. It will be turned into a road car soon 

Picture Jeroen Booij

Most of the Davrians came with Imp power - this is a rare mid-Mini-engined example

Picture Jeroen Booij

And how about this? A proper MiniSprint by master coachbuilder Neville Trickett

Picture Jeroen Booij

The car needs finishing touches but the mechanicals are ready, again it's Mpi powered

Picture Jeroen Booij

Return to the scene

It seems that slowly but surely the action is returning to the classic car scene with several events returning to the calendar and actually taking place! Below is a selection of pictures sent to me and found online from Mini derivatives that could be seen in the last week or so.

60 Years of the Mini Cooper was celebrated at the Circuit de la Châtre in central France last weekend,

 with lots of Minis and Mini Coopers attending as well as this Mini Marcos, seen here early 

morning in the pit street

Picture Gérard Zanol

And it wasn't the only Marcos attending the sunny event. Two more of them seen here front row

Picture Gérard Zanol

And two more Mini Marcoses, both Mk4s seen at the National Mini & Metro Show at the British Motor Museum in Gaydon. The yellow car is owned by Des Bennett and the orange one by Richard Porter, who both built it from new and still own it after more than 40 years!

Picture Richard Porter

London Concours was one of the few events that took place last year. It returned to the city for 2021 where it took place at the fields of the Honourable Artillery Company from June 8-10. Stunning place with some stunning cars. See the Unipower?

Picture Tim Scott 

Last year Tim Carpenter's Unipower GT was on display here; this year it was Gerry Hulford's car, looking ever so good in the sun. Remarkably, the wing mentions Stanley Robinson and John Blanckley as drivers who, as far as I know never drove this car. Very confusing!

Picture The Sporting Minis

Derek Wilkins brought his ex-Cars & Car Conversions Cox GTM over to Shelsley Walsh last weekend, where 60 Years of Jaguar's E-type was celebrated together with the Mini Cooper Register

Picture Ian Hunt

Jamie Crudgington is having fun in the gorgeous Mk1 Mini Jem of his father Pete. They brought it to a track day at Mallory Park a few weeks ago and will be racing it at Donington soon in an action-packed field

Picture Pete Crudgington

Another track day, another cool Mini derivative. That's Guy Loveridge with the Ogle SX1000 in between a wide variety of other racing cars at Blyton Park in Lincolnshire on June 2nd

Picture Guy Loveridge

The National Mini Cooper Day at Beaulieu took place last weekend, too, and saw things turn back to as they were two years ago. Seen here a particularly nice MiniSprint, a Stewart & Ardern built car? 

Picture Richard Porter

Another rarely seen Mini derivative at the National Mini Cooper Day and like the MiniSprint it's another Neville Trickett design, too: a Siva Mule of which 12 were made in the 1970s

Picture Richard Porter