Car of the Month : July 2002

This rather splendid Mini belongs to Robert Kitchen, a member of the Norfolk Mini Owners’ Club. But don’t be fooled by the retro looks…

Robert’s Mini was orignally produced not by BMC, but by Rover, being a 1997 Cooper with twin-point fuel injection. Since then, it has been given a very effective retro makeover, including 10-inch “Minilite” wheels and MkI-style rear lights.



Front view reveals few clues to this car’s real age. Only a true anorak would put this as a non-genuine article – and the biggest giveaway? The lack of external door hinges! Whatever its authenticity, it is an extremely pretty Mini…



Rear view is nice as well – one hopes that the reversing light has not been independently wired, otherwise the temptation to blind tailgating motorists at night might be too much.



The Mini 1275GT’s biggest contribution to the Mini story (in my opinion – kja) was the triple-pack instrument cluster – here it remains in the timber-clad dashboard. The rest of the interior also looks good – but, ‘wot, no Moto-Lita steering wheel”?


Photographs kindly supplied by Ian Nicholls

Keith Adams

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