The original Mini was considered a budget car by all means and purposes. Step inside one from 1959 and you’ll immediately understand where the name comes from as the car will feel ‘spartan’ to put it mildly. Everything inside was put there with a purpose and whatever was not absolutely necessary was left out. You can include a side mirror in that category as well as door handles or even a second sun visor.
The minimalist approach is what made the car successful in the first place though but things have changed over the years. Since BMW took over, the winged badge has transformed a bit, to convey a premium feel more than anything else. Well, David Brown took things a bit further. He is well known for his interesting takes on the classic Mini and other cars as well, and his latest creations are just absolutely stunning.
Introduced earlier this year at the Geneva Motor Show, these classic Minis had a second life breathed into them. While the exterior impresses from the get go, with dual-tone paint schemes, new headlamps and wheels, the interior is where the biggest changes happened. Gone is the simple dash, dominated by a huge speedometer in the middle. The David Brown version has luxury written all over.
The seats have been changed, the gearshift lever is the same but has a leather pouch around it while the dash has been completely overhauled. Leather dominates the atmosphere now, along with wood and aluminum. The doors have covers now and armrests, the speedometer sits in front of the new, smaller steering wheel and there’s even a display right in between the seats. According to David Brown, each of these cars would take about 1,400 hours of work to be transformed to such an extent but what a beautiful result they yield.
Care to guess how much one costs?
