Mini Magazine March 2017

Replica. A bit of a dirty word to some, but certainly not in the context of this month's superb cover car. Unlike an MR2 with a 'Ferrari' kit or a 'McLaren' made from an old Pug 406 Coupe and tin foil, Steve Jones' Datapost GT is a more than worthy tribute act. Painstakingly built by Dale Racing and powered by a Swiftune motor, it retains the character of the car that Alan Curnow drove back in the late '70s while bringing it up date in terms of safety and materials. The original car still exists of course, but just as with its ex-Richard Longman GT counterpart, they're now just too precious to be modernised and thrown around race tracks. Steve's car gives us all a chance to see what the…

“Being from a farming background, all of my mates have sheds...” Remember the wedding sequence in The Italian Job film? You’ve got the happy couple, minding their own business on steps of the Grande Madre di Dio church in Turin, when all of a sudden red, white and blue Mini Coopers come hurtling down from both sides while trying to escape the police. Michael Caine yells ‘good luck’ from the passenger seat of the red one, and an inextricable link between the three cars and weddings becomes part of Mini folklore. We know we’re preaching to the converted here, but we reckon the Mini has all the right credentials to make an excellent wedding transport – albeit without the strong sump guards and gold bullion in the boot. It’s traditional,…

BODY Blue: 1988 Mini saloon restored with localised repairs and new doors, repainted in VW Deep Blue Pearl. Red: 1992 Mini 1275 with new panels including sills and front panel, repainted in Range Rover Firenze Red. White: 1999 Mini MPi, restored with localised floor repairs, repainted pearlescent white. All: Sportpack arches, Painted Union flag roofs, Union flag winged badges and wheel centres, twin bonnet stripes, four chrome spot lamps, Cooper grille, chrome wipers, bullet mirrors, chrome rear numberplate lamp, clear lenses all round, LED rear fog lamp, flip-top fuel filler caps (blue and red), consecutive black and silver pressed aluminium numberplates. ENGINE Blue: 998cc A-Series, Stage 2 head, HS4 carb, K&N cone filter, alloy inlet manifold, LCB, centre-exit exhaust. Red: 1275cc A-Series, HIF38 carb, Stage 1 kit with side-exit exhaust.…

The man who took the Mini to Le Mans, Jean-Claude Hrubon, passed away at the age of 78 in December. Hrubon was the main force behind the Mini Marcos entry in 1966, which saw the car finish 15th overall and was rediscovered only recently after a very lengthy search by journalist Jeroen Booij. Hrubon had been a Mini specialist and tuner who worked from his ‘atelier’ in Levallois, downtown Paris. It was this environment that saw him devise the Hrubon Phaeton in the late 1970s, a Mini-based Moke lookalike made one metre shorter than the standard Moke so that it could be parked transversely on the crowded streets of Paris. He later sold the project to Bernard Schmitt, who renamed it after himself in 1981. Hrubon continued building Mini convertibles…

• Tickets for the 2017 London and Surrey Mini Owners Club’s London to Brighton run have once again sold out in record time. Mini Spares put its allocation on sale on January 15, and managed to sell out within two and a half hours – beating 2016’s previous four-hour record. Over 850 were sold in the first 20 minutes! In 2015 the first batch were sold over a period of four days, and in 2014 they were available for almost nine weeks. Another batch of around 50-100 tickets had yet to go on sale as we went to press, but we expect they will go fast. If you’ve missed out, keep an eye on the Mini Spares and London to Brighton Facebook page just in case any more should become…

• While much of the nation recovered from a sore head on New Year’s Day, plenty of other folk were out and about enjoying their cars. A good number could be found at the historic Brooklands Museum near Weybridge in Surrey, which attracted a good turnout of classic vehicles despite the damp, drizzly weather. A wide selection of Minis from original early examples to powerful hybrid creations joined many other marques, and there were a few traders present too. Busiest of all had to be the cafe, which keep attendees warm with hot drinks and tasty food. The event provided a little taster of what to expect when the Minis return for the annual Brooklands Mini Day, which takes place on March 19.…