• Lovely original Mini Auto

• Sub-30k mileage believed correct

• Immaculate original interior

• Mostly original paint

As classic cars go, the Mini is one that needs very little in the way of an introduction. Voted Car of the Century by Autocar magazine, Alec Issigonis’s motoring masterpiece is revered the world over – and not without good reason. 

After all, over four million were sold, and there are very few people in the UK who don’t have a Mini memory of one form or another, be it through owning one, having a family member with one or simply fond memories of seeing them on every street corner.

Such is its popularity that the Mini has spawned its own culture, with fans of the car from all over the world using Minis as blank canvases to place their own individual mark on the model. 

And while that’s a good thing in terms of the Mini’s survival rate and popularity, it does mean that unmolested, standard examples are few and far between.

All of which makes this example quite remarkable – a 1972 Morris Mini 1000 Automatic, with less than 30,000 miles on the clock and an MOT history that would appear to back up its low mileage.

You rarely see untouched Minis these days, especially with automatic transmission as many of them have been converted to manual as part of a restoration or rebuild. It’s a charming and very rare thing.

The Mini was first registered in July 1972 and while there are a few artefacts form its early life, they are few and far between. However, its MOT history appears to verify the mileage, especially as the car was off the road for much of the 1980s and early 1990s. 

It was acquired by the vendor in 2017 as part of his Mini collection (he also has a concours example and one that he is in the process of restoring), but is being offered for sale to make room for an incoming Land Rover project. 

Along with a pile of MOT certificates dating back to the 1990s, the Mini comes with a few old tax discs, the oldest of which is dated 1975. 

In addition, it has a period authentic owners’ handbook which the vendor believes could be the original, but with no proof. 

Finished in Glacier White – a popular Leyland colour from 1969 to 1981 – the Mini looks extremely charming, especially with its contrasting tan interior. 

The vendor believes the paint to be mostly original and it certainly looks to be the case, as there are areas where it is quite thin from polishing, and a few cracks in the paint on the nearside front wing. These are not elements that detract from it all, though, as they serve to add a truly authentic patina to what is a lovely, well-preserved car.

It has seen some repairs to the lower bodywork, though – it’s a 50-year old Mini, after all. The lower parts of the front wings have been repaired and it has had a replacement boot lid, while an over-sill has been fitted on the nearside. The driver’s side has the original sill, with some welded repairs. The floors are excellent, as is the all-important boot floor and both subframes. 

It’s a case of the car being preserved and kept as original as possible, and that’s something that has happened to this example remarkably well. It’s a lovely little thing and deserves to be kept that way by its next owner.

Inside, the Mini certainly looks like a genuine 30,000 mile car with superb tan-coloured vinyl seats that, aside from on the driver’s side, look to have barely been sat in. The driver’s seat has very minor wear, but is still in fine condition. 

The carpets are good, too, as is the simple, uncluttered dashboard..

Being a Mini, it’s fairly basic – but this one does have the ‘luxuries’ of opening rear windows and an oil pressure gauge. Such decadence!

It’s a fabulous colour scheme and in fantastic over all order.

Turn the key and the Mini fires up eagerly and with very little choke before settling down to a typically chattery idle. It runs sweetly and sounds fabulous, while it holds great oil pressure, doesn’t appear to burn oil and maintains a steady temperature. 

The gearbox engages all forward and reverse gears as it should and is surprisingly smooth for a small-engined 1970s auto, though one thing it isn’t is quick. But it’s a Mini, so that means that once you get up to speed it’s both easy and hugely enjoyable to maintain momentum. 

There are, of course, thousands of Minis still in existence and loads for sale at any given time – but there are very few like this. 

It’s an instantly loveable example of a genuine, largely unrestored and completely original car and it deserves to be kept and preserved that way. 

It’s a gorgeous thing, brimming with character and entirely period correct – one for the Mini collector rather than the modifier, but with a charm and originality that few others can muster.