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!

 

Early Innocenti Mk1 based Pavesi Mini comes with all the bells and whistles

Picture GAM ShineDetailing

Grille surround and indicators are a giveaway of this being an Italian-built Mini

Picture GAM ShineDetailing

Sunroof and deep gloss paint job, and look at the wood inside...

Picture GAM ShineDetailing

Now that's a centre console! Note automatic transmission and electric window switches

Picture GAM ShineDetailing

Hand brake lever has been replaced to the left. What are those seats from - Lancia?

Picture GAM ShineDetailing

This car's details are beautiful. The black device is not a heater but a telephone! 

Picture GAM ShineDetailing

Headlining is upholstered with wool in colour, too. What a car!

Picture GAM ShineDetailing

Lavish Pavesi Mini turns up in the US

An unusual Pavesi Mini, turned up in the US last week. The car comes with the Pavesi signature filler cap, wooden dashboard and console but has quite a lot more frivolities, too. There's an interior that's all trimmed in a wild paisley pattern, from the seats to the doors, the armrests, the lower dashboard rail to even the full headlining. And there's an awful lot of burr walnut wood trim, too. From outside we see an unusual chrome strip and built in (and no doubt electrically operated) antenna. Supposedly a diplomat's or ambassador's car from South-Africa, the Mini turned up in Oregon recently with the same garage that has a Ranger Cub (read here). More information is welcome!

Another variant of the Pavesi Mini console in a 1970s Mini Cooper. Pavesi loved burr walnut

Picture Jeroen Booij

The same car, now with the dashboard over its full length. The clocks are placed differently here

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

Thgis is another Pavesi Mini with another wooden dash, but it comes closer to that of the Oregon car

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

And here's another that's even closer, with the radio centrally placed and even more gauges. This car also has the full console 

Picture Balilla Registro Italiano (but you'd seen that)