Now in Maximum Mini Newsletter #113

Stirling Moss and the Ogle he never owned

Gitane GT - now we really now what happened to it

Now in Maximum Mini Newsletter #94

The story of Malcom's Marcos

Mystery solved: meet the Needham GT39

A Mini Coupe in an Australian forecourt...

Now in Maximum Mini Newsletter #60

Background discovery: the crashed Mini Marcos of the 1967 Targa Florio

Peter Sellers and the Unipower GT 

Mystery Mini derivative (89)

Now in Maximum Mini Newsletter #44

Mystery Mini derivative restored in Denmark

All the Mini based cars of the Newark kit car show 2024

Le Mans Mini Marcos makes it to mainstream media

Now in Maximum Mini Newsletter #30

1970 Stunners: Sonny and his Unipower GT 

Agricultural mysteries: frontal-, central and rear wheel driven

Mini Trafalgar Coupe in Australia

Now in Maximum Mini Newsletter #19

Biota importer re-imports yet another Biota

Mystery Mini derivative (87) - Autotest Special

Readers: where are they from and what do they own?

From DART to Kingfisher, Tricar to Landar

More about the Mini powered Ginetta G4 of Canada

Three years ago this Mini powered Ginetta from Canada was a total mystery. Slowly the voids are being filled in since Denis Caron bought the car, with no idea what it actually was. 

Trevor Pyman, a registrar of the Ginetta Owners Club and the author of the history of the Ginetta G4 wrote to me that several G4s were actually exported to the Montreal area of Canada in 1965/'66 with a few of these currently missing. "This body shell may well be from one of these", he said. 

But then Ivan Samila threw another light on the case: "I came across this car in the mid 1980s in a shop in Barrie, Ontario. They guy who was building it was a fiberglass fabricator. He has his own moulds that he had taken off of an original Ginetta, as far as I recall. He was hoping to sell them as kit cars. I don't know what ever happened to the car or molds." Eventually he found an old invoice dated 1987 from the shop, revealing a name: "I found the fellow's name who was building this car. The fellow is Tony Mailes. I saw the car April 20 1987. I have tried to locate him but have not been successful."

Fast forward another couple of years and the picture below turns up, made by David Lindsey. He wrote: "I was at a Mini Meet East in Toronto or Maryland and came across these guys working on this car. I was so taken by the engine configuration that I just pulled a snap. That was years ago. Cheers!" 

David believes it must have been in 1994 when he took the picture. And since it was seen on a meeting, more people will know about it I would think. Who's next to drop me a line about it? Are you still out there Tony Mailes?

Made by a man named Tony Mailes in Barrie, Ontario: a Mini powered Ginetta G4

Picture courtesy David Lindsey

Mystery Mini Derivative (85) UPDATED: not Mini based

Boy, is the first Mystery Mini Derivative for this year shrouded in - er - mystery! It's only believed to be Mini powered, but even that is not known for sure. The picture was provided by regular supplier Roald Rakers and was supposedly shot in 1969 during a race in Japan in what was known as the 'Golden Series Minicar Challenge'. 

That does indeed look like a Mini engine poking out of the front to me, with two carburetors standing in the right position, aren't they? And those wheels may very well be 10" Mini ones also. But then... the Japanese had some small cars on offer, too. So... who knows more about this intriguing little racer from Nippon?

UPDATE 21 January 2023: Not a Mini derivative! According to Noriyuki Karikomi this is a Honda N360 based Phantom Formula Junior car. Thank you very much.

Mystery racer in the Japanese 1969 Golden Series Minicar Challenge. Mini based?

Picture via Roald Rakers

Stop press! Not Mini-based but a Honda N360 based Phantom Formula Junior car. Another one here

Picture via Noriyuki Karikomi

Mystery Mini derivative is a Napier. But what's that?

First there was this sketchy group picture with a bright green Mystery Mini Derivative (click here) in which reader Colin Baines recognized himself. Then there was a better picture of the thing dug up by Kees Plugboer which gave the registration away and with that a bit more info, too (click here). Now it's time for another shot, from Kees again, showing the rear of the car. 

The DVLA previously learned us that 'Q412 NTR' used to be registered as a 'Tourer' of 'Other British Makes' in July 1984, but by this time the system has it as a 1300cc Napier! Does that ring any bells to anyone here? I also noticed that it is remarkably close registered to another Mini derivative: a Langridge Navajo with the number 'Q413 NTR' (more here) and in an equally bright green colour, too. A coincidence? Or do these two cars have something in common after all?

First picture of the rear end of 'Q412 NTR', which turns out to be a Napier 1300

Picture courtesy Kees Plugboer

The only pictures of the thing date back to 1984 - also the year it was registered 

Picture courtesy Kees Plugboer

This Langridge Navajo must have been registered on the same day. A coincidence?

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

Mystery Mini Derivative (84): Kiwi Twini

Twinis (twin engined Minis for those of you who forgot) were made in a wide variety. John Cooper's version became famous after it almost killed the man himself, but there were many more. You may be surprised about the number of Twinis built on Mini based cars too, or ones that almost saw the light of day. From Deep Sanderson to Butterfield Musketeer and from Scamp to Ranger. Read more about some of them here.

Tim Neal tipped me off about a Twini that's offered for sale in New Zealand. According to the seller it was built in Dunedin by a man who made more Moke style cars, all road legal ones but just with the single engine. This one, however, was different and was never road registered. It is now offered for sale, still as a project and as a 1970 Mini.

Apart from the mechanicals not much of the Mini's base appears to have been used with home-made steel floors, or so it seems, and a body which looks to be made of aluminium. It comes with a 'condition unknown' 850cc engine at the rear and a 1000- or 1100cc that has to be mounted in the front subframe.  There are twin fuel tanks and 12" wheels. A rewarding project no doubt. See the ad here.

Mini based Jeep style car - but with a difference...

Picture Trademe.co.nz

...As the car's rear is another engine bay

Picture Trademe.co.nz

Front oozes Jeep but then this was going to be a 4x4 

Picture Trademe.co.nz

There's an 850 engine in the space frame at the back

Picture Trademe.co.nz

While this one (1000 or 1100) is meant to go in the front 

Picture Trademe.co.nz

Simple dash with twin instruments. Twin tanks mounted directly under seats

Picture Trademe.co.nz

Floors appear to have been made specifically for this car

Picture Trademe.co.nz

What exactly is Paul's convertible?

A message from Michigan, where Paul Lester owns a Mini convertible by an unknown coachbuilder. Paul wrote: "I was told the car was modified in the early 1960's (it is a 1960 Austin Mini 7) to see if the factory could offer a cabrio, but the project was never agreed upon. I have no evidence to back this up other then two people with similar stories. I did talk to someone who worked on it in the 1980s in the UK (Worthing, quite close to the Cooper garage) and he had some history but sadly he passed away before he could share. All I know is 'oral history' with no firm facts to back it up."

With much of the car's sides kept intact it did remind me of a convertible conversion by Bell's Cars of Kensington but unlike Paul's car these had the conventional rear side screens. So... a factory conversion / prototype after all..? I'd love to find out and I'm sure the same goes for Paul.

A 1960 Austin Mini that's been converted into a convertible. But by whom?

Picture Paul Lester

There have been other convertibles keeping the Mini's sides intact, but not like this

Picture Paul Lester

Mystery Mini derivative (83)

From Denmark (where the last mystery Mini derivative was located) over to Germany for the next. And this is an intriguing one, which I really hope some of you here will be able to tell me more about. I was made aware of these pictures with the question for more information. I didn't know anything about it but managed to get in touch with Ralf Streethawk, who took these pictures. Unfortunately he didn't know much either, writing: "Hello, I made these pictures in Bergkamen in the Easter weekend. The car was parked next to a Pilgrim and a Spartan. Greetz, Ralf."

Next, I asked a German friend. Again he didn't know it but he did ask another friend who did, leading to the following information, translated from German: "Yes I know this racing series. It's similar to a Formula V but with the Mini engine and the smallest diameter disc brakes of the Cooper that exist. I can't think of the name of these racing cars since it was a long time ago."

Well, well, a German racing series of its own using Mini power. Surely some of you will know that? Do note that this car appears to be road registered also! Thanks Ralf Streethawk for allowing me to use the pictures.

Sleek single seater racer from Germany, used in a racing series. 1990s or 200s?

Picture Ralf Streethawk

Wheels (12") may be the only giveaway to this racing car being Mini powered

Picture Ralf Streethawk

But there you go. That is a Mini engine driving the rear wheels. Who knows more?

Picture Ralf Streethawk

Mystery Mini Derivative (82): Danish Beach Car

The two pictures below reached me from Denmark through Michael Hansen, who wanted to know if I'd seen this car before. All he knows is that it is supposedly based on a 1967 Austin Seven. Well, I draw a complete blank here. It does look similar to the Kosellek Mini cabriolet, made in Alençon, France in the late-1960s or perhaps to the Crayford Carnival, but it's clearly different to these. Look at those fat A-pillars! And how about the massive bumpers, Volvo-sourced..? Any information would be most welcome.

A mystery Mini Beach car conversion from Denmark. I'd never seen this one before

Picture courtesy Michael Hansen

Massive bumpers and ditto grille, fat A-pillars and no doors. Who knows more..?

Picture courtesy Michael Hansen

Mystery Mini derivative (81)

We know by bow that there are some extraordinary Mini derivatives to be found on the islands of the Caribbean. The wacky Moke-style cars of Petit St. Vincent (click here), the Carimoke, Minilan and Royal Bank Special of Barbados (click) and the 'Party Yaks' of Trinidad and Tobago (click). The car below was spotted on Trinidad and Tobago also, but even it's owner doesn't know what it is. Ramesh Sookdeo wrote: "The owner applied for a certified copy but didn't get any as yet. We don't know even what type of car it is." 

Although it definitely looks to be Mini based I have never seen it before either, although I quite like the Tonka toy looks of it, with big roll bars and fat Cobra drag slots. Anyone here who's seen it before..?

Mystery Mini based Jeep style car hails from Trinidad and Tobago

Picture Ramesh Sookdeo

Is American mystery racer an SWM prototype?

A mystery Mini based racer from the USA has intrigued me ever since I saw it for the first time in 2012. (click here). In the next years I got in touch with now-owner Steve Steeb of Michigan, who told me: "I have had no luck trying to identify it. I contacted a number of Vintage Racing people and a lot of Mini Cooper racers but have struck out." (his full story with more detail here).

Now, last week I bumped into some old pictures of a racing prototype built under the SWM name in Germany in the mid-1960s. This car was sold through auctioneer Bonhams (here), which gave some interesting information in its description. It was supposedly made in small numbers (6 to 7) by brothers Stefan and Wenzel Mannl of München. The cars originally used BMW 700 boxer-power 'which was later changed for an 850cc unit equipped with twin-plug ignition'. They were hill climbed and raced at a great number of events, amongst them the Ratisbona Bergrennen, Sudelfeld Bergrennen, Neubiberg Flugplatzrennen, the Schainsland hill climb, Rossfeld hill climb (where no less than 3 SWMs were entered in 1965) and at the circuits of Trier, Ulm-Laupheim and Innsbruck.

What struck me most is the body shapes and the size of the SWM prototype, definitely bearing similarities to our American mystery racer. At least more than any other contemporary racer car I can think of. Owner Steve Steeb ads: "Interesting. Similar wheel openings and front and rear profiles. I'll go back down the rabbit hole and see what I can turn up. I also recently contacted a guy in Florida who does a lot of research on American fibre-glass one-offs. I sent him a few pictures. He apparently travels sometimes and I am close enough to Detroit that maybe he could come see it someday. Meanwhile it is tarped and awaiting its turn in line (might be a few years!). THANKS for keeping me in mind! Cheers, Steve". Do let me know what you think, too.

This Mini powered racer has been a mystery for ages now. Can it be solved?

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

The car's owner believes it was never finished and has no clues about its identity

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

But looks at these two! They are SWM prototype racers from Germany

Picture Bonhams Auctioneers

They were raced in the mid-1960s and supposedly 6 or 7 were made

Picture Bonhams Auctioneers

Initially they used 700 cc boxer engines from BMW's small rear-engined car

Picture Bonhams Auctioneers

This example was sold by Bonhams auctioneers in 2011

Picture Bonhams Auctioneers

Mystery Mini derivative (80)

Mystery Mini derivative number 80 (!) comes from regular contributor Scott Barrett and it's as mysterious as can be. He wrote: Hi Jeroen, Somebody with better eyesight than me has put the registration number (CRE 263K) of this unusual buggy-type car into the DVLA computer, and it says it is a 1971 998cc Austin, so quite possibly Mini-based. Any ideas? Best, Scott" 

I have no idea whatsoever but certainly do like the looks of this creature. The picture was made by Klaus Hiltscher at London's Piccadilly Circus in 1976 and Klaus was kind enough to share it online. I have also zoomed in on the car and brightened it up a little on the computer and I do believe the registration is indeed 'CRE 263K'. Who knows more?

A bright and sunny day at Piccadilly Circus in 1976. But what's that car?

Picture Klaus Hiltscher

It seems to be registered CRE 263K, which is allocated to a 998cc Austin of 1971...

Picture Klaus Hiltscher

Mystery Mini derivative (79)

Mike Brown alerted me about a picture he'd found on a Facebook page atypically named 'Sitting there Rotting on a Driveway'. And although the picture in question shows a vehicle that's not exactly on a driveway - it surely sits and rots! The chap who took the picture, Jamie Parnill, has no idea what it is but Mike added: "This looks like it might be Mini based". And I think he is right, too. 

But what on earth is it? The windscreen looks flat but much of the rest of the glasshouse (Perspex?) is curved. Could it have been made for a movie..? In that case somebody will surely recognize it.

UPDATE 12 January 2022: Perhaps not Mini based after all? Nick Beaumont wrote: "Wheels look wrong for a Mini". Paul Wylde thinks it may well be Reliant Kitten based and he dropped me a picture of a Kitten chassis, which does look similar. He added: "I think they have relocated the fuel tank and dropped the chassis down a bit at the back to lower the rear door access". He's got a good point there. Opinions are divided as a Reliant restorer that I know isn't quite so sure though...

Mini based? Looks like it. But the whens, whos, wheres and especially the whys are unknown

Picture Jamie Parnill

Ranger Cubs found in a field + Mystery Mini Derivative (78)

Ranger Cubs three-wheelers keep on turning up in the last few years and latest now comes from Stuart Christopher Satchell, who recently bumped into not one but two Cubs in a field in the Midlands. They are Red and yellow and both of them unknown to me before. I have now added their registrations 'LPK 631P' and 'HKP 281N' in the little list of Ranger Cubs here.

Unfortunately Stuart had very little information: "Hi jeroen, unfortunately I can't really tell you much about them. Sorry I couldn't be of much help I just come across them when I was doing a delivery there."

Apart from the Cub duo there was another three-wheeler who I think may well be Mini based. It comes on a Q-plate and looks like an Earl Trike but is not that. Anyone who knows more about these three would be much welcome to tell more about them.

A field full of classics, and among them a duo of Ranger Cub three-wheelers

Picture Stuart Christopher Satchell

'HKP 281N' and 'LPK 631P' were previously unknown to me. Who knows more?

Picture Stuart Christopher Satchell

This was also there and I think it could well be another Mini powered 3-wheeler. But what?

Picture Stuart Christopher Satchell

Q-registered, but the plate is not very well visible. It's not an Earl Trike but looks quite similar

Picture Stuart Christopher Satchell