Mini Remastered by David Brown to launch at London motor show

Model gets new interior and paintwork, tweaked 1275cc engine and Apple CarPlay; previous models from DBA include the Speedback GT
Julian Rendell
by Julian Rendell
28 April 2017

The Mini Remastered will make its UK debut at the London motor show next month, David Brown Automotive (DBA) has confirmed.

Essentially a luxury version of the original Mini, it has a tweaked 1275cc engine, Apple CarPlay functionality, a bespoke interior and paintwork. Its creator, DBA, is the company the company behind the DB5-lookalike Speedback GT.

The Mini Remastered invokes the spirit of ‘customised’ 1960s Minis, the Mini Remastered is handbuilt using new body panels which are fettled by DBA to improve the fit and finish and ‘de-seamed’ to give the smooth body look that was highly-valued in the 1960s. Each car has 1400 man hours of labour behind it, 400 of which are spent on the paintwork.

"This is the ultimate in modern and classic town and city driving," said the company, "built by hand with unique coachbuilding construction and incorporating modern technology."

The engine is a reconditioned 1275cc unit  — the capacity that powered later Cooper S models and the 1970s 1275 GT — or a 90bhp 1310cc in the Monte Carlo, mated to an original four-speed manual gearbox which has also been re-conditioned. In base spec, the 1275cc engine produces 60bhp, and climbs to 75bhp for the Cafe Racer. 

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"The car will have all the style and feel of a classic with modern dynamics," claims DBA.

The 1275cc is tuned to produce ‘up to 50% more power’ which depending on tune suggests about 90 – 100 bhp. With a typical kerb weight of 700kg, that’s power enough to get a Mini scuttling around city streets.

DBA is also promising upgraded suspension and brakes.

However, the big step forward is in the interior, centred on a new dashboard with a modern touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay, plus hand-trimmed, sumptuous soft leather seats and luxury carpets.

The door trims are unique, too, lending the interior a unique appeal.

DBA claims the new seats will ‘enhance’ the driving position which may go some way to address the original Mini’s cramped driving position.

Two special editions, ‘Inspired by Café Racers’ and ‘Inspired by Monte Carlo’ will launch the Mini Remastered at the Top Marques Monaco show in late April.

Production will be limited to '50-100 per year'; this is possible because of the company's move to a new factory at Silverstone.

The £600,000 Speedback GT based on a £60,000 Jaguar XK dwarfs the price of the Mini –  the Mini Remastered tips the scales at £70,000 which will clearly limit its appeal to the super-rich.

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Comments
32

owenmahamilton

6 April 2017
I very much doubt they will sell any, even to the super rich. Who in their right mind would buy one, they are too small nowadays and even though the interior has been modernised, the running gear is very old technology.

80sXS

6 April 2017
owenmahamilton wrote:

I very much doubt they will sell any, even to the super rich. Who in their right mind would buy one, they are too small nowadays and even though the interior has been modernised, the running gear is very old technology.

They'll sell them, but it won't be to enthusiasts or drivers. They'll be snapped up by spivs eager to sell them on for a profit to folk who will lock them away with their other trophies of wealth. Shame really as they look rather nice.

Roderick Ramage

8 April 2017
Too small?

The joy of the remastered Mini is that it reminds us what lardy space-wasting slobs modern cars have become.

Roderick Ramage

beechie

28 April 2017
Roderick Ramage wrote:

Too small?

The joy of the remastered Mini is that it reminds us what lardy space-wasting slobs modern cars have become.

Fancy having a crash in one of them there Minis, do you?

bol

6 April 2017
Adds absolutely nothing but a veneer of "exclusive". Seriously? A reconditioned 4 speed 1275? They were pretty poor 50 years ago. Imagine what you could do with a mini, £100k (or even £30k) and an electric drivetrain. That would be interesting. This, a lot less so. And CarPlay was £300 in Halfords last time I looked.

TheDriver

6 April 2017
Great to see such a car back in - very limited - circulation. In the modern age of behemoth SUV's, I can't help thinking that driving one will feel like you're in the Land of the Giants. As for safety features and crumple zones etc, well cross your fingers and hope for the best. Probably aimed at the very well heeled inner-city dweller.

Thekrankis

6 April 2017
I always regretted selling my '71 Cooper S - a wonderful little go kart of a car - I have never stopped hankering after a 'proper' Mini since.
Steam cars are due a revival.

Hedonist

6 April 2017
too expensive and I can't help but wonder how it would fare in an NCAP safety test (or when hit by a lorry on the King's Cross gyratory).

Sundym

6 April 2017
Sorry for that money i'd rather have the better engineered but similar concept frontline mgb with new suspension , lights and most importantly a breathed on modern Mazda engine and transmission, that can hit 60 in 5 seconds. At least you can see where your money has gone instead of 400 hours painting a mini with a 60s engine ...maybe I'm missing the point , but if I want to spend that amount on 'reimagining ', i'd want a bit more imagination !

Bazzer

6 April 2017
I loved the original Mini, and I always thought BMW were wrong to make it bigger. It was the size that made it so appealing. Driving one always made you feel you were driving a go-kart. I passed my test in a Mini in 1976, and I still want that car back...but just to go to the local shops in. Now I'm 57 and a half, not 17 and a half, and I understand that I'm not immortal, after all. Give me the safety of my 5 star NCAP car. £100,000 can't be justified on a Land Rover Defender (of which I have had three, and loved them all), and £70,000 can't be justified on an original Mini - it just can't. And I have to add that no one can justify 400 hours on paintwork. They are either doing it wrong, or it's just a bit of PR nonsense.

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