The Mini is recognised as one of Britain's most iconic cars ever produced. It was designed by Sir Alec Issigonis and manufactured by English based company British Motor Corporation (BMC). With its space saving transverse engine and front wheel drive layout, this allowed 80% of the car’s floor-pan to be used for passengers and luggage.

26th August 1959 saw the Mini officially unveiled to the public. Several thousand cars had already been produced, with 2000 already sent abroad. They were displayed that very same day in over 100 countries to coincide with the launch.

The Mini has had many editions, collections and marks in its 1959-2000 life, from the Cooper S, Mayfair, John Player Special, even a Mini Paul Smith. Within that production time whether it was manufactured by BMC, British Leyland, or Rover Group, they have never moved far away from the classic mini shape that we all recognise.

This particular model you see here is the Mini Sprite and was intended to be an intermediate model between the already popular models “City” and the “Mayfair”.

This 1995 Rover Mini sprite has only had 2 owners from new. The original owner was a family member to the seller who sadly didn’t use the car due to illness and this reflects in the incredibly low mileage with just 6117 showing on the clock.

The car has always been garaged from new and was SORN from 2005 until 2015 which is when the current seller acquired it. 2016 saw all the tyres replaced, not because they were worn out but they were out of shape (possibly caused from being stood and not used), the originals have been kept should the new owner want them. In 2019 the car did require some welding repairs to the floor pan and both sills which is documented in the history file.

Why sell a car with such low mileage? The car simply doesn’t get used as much as it should and it’s a shame to just leave it sitting there.

It's always pleasing to see a car with a nice history file and with this Mini Sprite you do get it, everything is there! The hand books and service books are present, together with the original bill of sale and there's even the original sales brochure. Complementing this are all the MOT certificates and tax discs (remember those), and obviously there are receipts for any work that has been carried out. The service book does have some stamps missing, but the car does have receipts for the services, the last one being in July this year. Two keys are present as is also the V5 logbook and there is MOT on the car until 30th June 2021.

The Mini Sprite interior is in the nice harlequin grey trim.  The comfortable seats with hugging bolsters and head restraints are in good condition with just a slight amount of material stretch on the driver's seat. There is also matching material on the door cards.  Everything works as it should. There was no radio fitted to the car from new.

Onto the boot storage area and the original spare wheel is there along with the jack and wheel brace. The sprite still holds the Rover Adsheads dealer decal in the rear window and the dealer tax disc holder in the front screen, which is packed with the old tax discs.

Finished in Blue the Mini has the classic look with the chrome bumpers and headlight surrounds, these are are all in good condition with no knocks or dents. To let people know you are driving a specific model the sprite has decals fitted to each side of the rear quarter and one on the boot lid and these are all original. A little more originality is that the car still has the original dealer plates fitted.

There is some evidence of the car having some paintwork to the nearside wing and along the scuttle panel. There is a small dent near the top edge of the nearside wing and also a couple of small dents on the roof.

The door gaps and shut lines are all straight and matching. Some paint bubbling has started on the bottom of the nearside door and on the inside at the bottom of the offside door.

Keeping the as new 145/70/R12 tyres covered is the black wheel arch extensions. These have no scuffs on them. The wheel trims are the original sprite ones, but do have some scuffs around them.

The engine in the Mini Sprite is the A+ engine, which has been developed over the years from the A engine. It has undergone quite a few changes since 1959 with increases to the bore taking it from 805cc to 848cc, 948cc, 970cc, 1071cc, all the way up to the biggest size which is the 1275 cc complete with Single Port Injection and a smooth 4-speed gearbox. Producing 62 Bhp it will certainly power you around the city streets in comfort and economically.

The car starts the first turn with ease and there are no ticks or knocks as you would expect with such low mileage. The seller comments that “it's an absolute pleasure and fun to drive and has always been reliable in their 5 years ownership.

This Mini has and always will appeal to a huge amount of people. Maybe you are a first-time driver who needs a small car? Or do you need an iconic small classic car to commute across the city in? You could be a collector needing a Sprite to add to your collection?

The number of clubs, forums, shows and events that cater for the mini is massive. They have a huge following so one thing you can be certain of with such a classic car is that you’ll never struggle for information, parts and advice, thus making it a nice classic to own.   

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