The idea for the Vauxhall Nova Cabriolet came about during a family Christmas Dinner in 1983. Peter Hutchinson and his sons Paul and Ian were big Vauxhall fans but recognised the manufacturer didn’t have a convertible in its model range at the time, so they decided to create their own.

A few days later when Peter was visiting a Vauxhall dealer to find a suitable “donor car”, he saw the newly announced Nova for the first time and realised it would be perfect, so he ordered a Carmine Red example there and then. Peter visualised that his folding roof design would not reduce the size of boot nor alter the seating area.

Peter ran an industrial engineering company called Hutchinson Designs Ltd, and set about building the Nova in his workshop out of hours. 

As the conversion was to be as low-priced as possible, all reinforcement parts were designed to be bolted into the body, with a T-Bar roof in the style of the Triumph Stag,

With the Nova finished, Hutchinson then hijacked a Vauxhall Dealer conference by parking his car outside the hotel entrance where the event took place. He sold nine that day, ultimately leading Vauxhall to recognise the conversion and sell it semi-officially. If that’s not entrepreneurialism, we don’t know what is.

The owner of this white Nova Cabrio was an early adopter, buying her 1.2 Merit less than a year after Hutchinson’s project was completed. 37 years later, she still owns it but has decided that the time has come for ‘Elle’ to go to a new home where she will be used and enjoyed more.

The vendor clearly remembers the day she bought the Nova brand new, from Ogglesby’s Vauxhall in Harpenden, Herts. There’s even a Vauxhall price list in the history file where she has scribbled notes pricing up the purchase of the base Nova and its subsequent conversion.

She took delivery of the car, which she christened ‘Elle’ on the very first day of the new ‘C’ registration – August 1, 1985. It has remained with her ever since, but has two owners on the logbook as in 1999 her daughter visited from overseas and used the car for a few months, her insurance company requiring her to be the registered owner. 

After 14 years of regular use, ‘Elle’ was still in good order but unfortunately became the victim of a vandal attack, which led to the vendor getting the car completely resprayed. It has been garaged ever since. 

Included is the car’s full history, service book, brochures, invoices for work carried out, original handbooks… the lot.

With its beige seats and chocolate brown dashboard, the Nova couldn’t be any more of its era. It’s in good, clean condition with only minimal wear to the seat facings, while all of the dials and controls still work as intended. 

It’s gloriously simple – wind-down windows, a speedometer, fan switch, headlight switch, column stalks and clock. That’s your lot…

The stereo has been modernised at some point, but otherwise it’s all original and even the leather storage bag to protect the removeable side windows is still in the boot.

Finished in Polar White, the repainted bodywork is still in fine order 23 years after it was redone. It has never been welded, the paint finish is good and the roof is still in excellent order. 

It sits on a set of four-spoke Revolution Alloys, a favourite among Mini owners, and they’re in good overall condition but the two rear ones are missing their centre stickers.

Power – all 55bhp of it – comes from GM’s 1.2-litre OHC ‘Family 2’ engine – the smallest derivative of what went on to become known as one of the most reliable four-cylinder engines ever made. It still sounds sweet after all these years and runs like clockwork, accelerating evenly through the gears and delivering plenty of smiles per mile.

If you want a car that’s rarer than a Bugatti Veyron and much easier to afford, then you’re looking at one that will probably turn just as many heads – or more if you take it to the right kind of show. It’s a cheerful, characterful and well-loved old car that its owner will be heartbroken to see go, but will also be delighted to see being enjoyed into the future. 

Only a handful of Nova Cabriolets are known to still exist and this is probably the only one that’s still with its first-ever owner.