The company – which has also produced the Aston Martin DB5 lookalike, the Speedback GT – will build a new take on the Mini Cooper complete with all the mod-cons including Apple CarPlay, sat-nav and a luxurious interior with plenty of sound proofing.
The process takes an existing old car and then embarks on a process called resto-modding (the transition of a classic into a car with modern features) though DBA calls it being “remastered”.
Externally, it looks like a Mini from the 1960s but the body has all-new panels with no seams or visible door hinges. Under the skin it has a new bracing system to improve rigidity and increase safety.
The interior is the biggest departure from the original Mini with seats trimmed in leather and a range of paint, leather and fabric trims available for the dashboard.
It does keep the Smiths instruments and Moto-Lita steering wheel that link back to the car’s origins.
The engine is based on the original 1275cc four-cylinder but has been modified to produce about 50 per cent more power, now putting out about 58kW that drives the front wheels through a reconditioned four-speed manual transmission.
The car also gets a new suspension system and disc brakes.
Each car takes about 1000 hours to build, with four weeks dedicated to perfecting the paint finish alone. Buyers can completely customise the car through the build process.
“We’ve built this car to sit alongside any classic or modern collector’s garage and I can see this being a fantastic city car, too,” David Brown said.
“We’ve had an amazing response to the car from Speedback GT customers and David Brown Automotive fans and we believe this is a car that will appeal to men, women, the young and old.”
The Mini Remastered by David Brown Automotive will cost from about $A85,500 and then you can add more for custom work.
By Neil Dowling
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