Is there a more iconic car in terms of British automotive marvels? Quite possibly, the Mini faces unrivalled success on that front. From those very early MK1s back in 1959, the Mini shot from success to success, finding fame on the racing circuit, as well as in the hearts of the British public and motoring press alike. 

By the late 90’s, the Rover group was beginning to bring this largely unchanged classic Mini design to a close in preparation for the all new Mini that would come in 2001. The final variant of the classic style Mini would be first introduced in 1995, with production spanning until the year 2000, consequently, 1998 models like the one we see here is therefore something of a last hurrah for the classic Mini, offering that classic design with a more usable and reliable car from a mechanical standpoint. It is for this reason that these modern classics are a rather sought after piece. 

This particular example boasts a well stocked history file and thus we can track a great deal of the car’s life. Originally an export from the factory straight over to Germany, the car spent a good chunk of its early life across the water on the continent, with the British registration documents suggesting the vehicle returned to the UK around November of 2001. We know the car resided in the north of England around the Derbyshire area, where in 2014 it underwent extensive cosmetic and mechanical restoration. 

The current owner of the Mini has had the car for just over a year now, purchasing it in 2019. Under this ownership, the Mini has benefitted from regular maintenance, servicing and mechanical upgrades (further detailed in the mechanics section of this listing). It has been dry stored as well as being placed within a custom made protective cover, hence we see it in the immaculate condition it sits in today. The current owner is now looking to move the Mini on to a new loving home. 

One perk of being such a well preserved car, is that the Mini is accompanied by a rather impressive stack of paperwork. Within which, we find several German importation and registration documents from the cars export into Germany, alongside this sits the current and correct V5 registration documents indicating the Mini’s return to the UK as November 2001. 

There are multiple previous MOT certificates, dating a considerable way back into the car's life, the stamped mileage at each of these help emphasise the incredibly low miles the car has amassed in past years. The car holds a current MOT, valid until July 2022 with no advisories. 

We find a considerable amount of invoices and receipts for various servicing and maintenance work undertaken throughout the Mini’s life, with work being done by specialists Mini Sport LTD and PG Wilkins Motor Engineers. There are also several invoices from North West Mini Centre for the extensive restoration work performed on the car around the year 2014.

A particular party piece of this mini comes in the form of the interior. It’s clear to see that considerable time, effort and, according to the invoices that accompany the car, money have been spent inside the cabin. 

Looking inside, we find an immaculate cream leather interior, matched with excellent green piping. This mini has a truly stand out interior. The seats themselves, both front and rear, are exquisite in both quality and condition, the leather is rich and full of life and colour, presenting almost as if they are yet to be sat on for the first time. 

Matched in perfectly are the, also leather, cream door cards, mirroring the great quality of the seating; they appear clean and unmarked and are complimented well by billet style door furniture, also in excellent condition. The attention to detail in terms of the restoration work done on the interior is really highlighted by neat touches such as the beautiful leather wrapped gear stick and two tone leather steering wheel, which of course, are in great shape.

Front and centre sits a walnut dash piece, fitted around the same time as the rest of the interior restoration work. The walnut has a wonderful shine to it, and like the rest of the interior, appears clean and unmarked. The chrome gauge pieces housed within the dash are of a similarly excellent quality. 

It can be seen that the dashboard houses a radio head unit, minus the faceplate, whilst this is present with the car, the current owner has indicated that this is faulty and will need replacing. All of the switchgear lined within the sleek black panel underneath the dash piece present well and are reported to function correctly.

Up top, we find a well trimmed roof lining upholstered in a matching shade of cream, the material is in great condition, with the lining itself fitting tightly to the roof, with just a few minor signs of wear to be seen above the front passenger seating area. Looking down, attention is drawn to a great, plush black carpet that drapes itself throughout the cabin, on top of which sit black protective floor mats, also carpeted, and bordered with colour matching green piping, all of which is in excellent condition.

An incredibly clean boot, painted in the same British Racing Green as the interior, sits behind the tailgate of the Mini, the boot floors and sidewalls are incredibly clean, and within, we find a full size spare wheel.

As shown by the incredibly high standard to which the interior was reupholstered, North West Mini centre does outstanding quality restoration work, and the story is no different when it comes to the exterior of this mini. 

Finished in a brilliant shade of the iconic British Racing Green, complemented excellently by a white painted roof and John Cooper stamped white racing stripes this Mini is certainly something of a looker. The paint has almost a mile deep quality to it, an exquisite shine protrudes from that excellent green from nearly every angle. It presents extremely well and lacks the typical wear and patina seen on so many Minis of this age. 

The white painted roof does mirror this great quality, however there are two very small compression dents to be seen up there. These have thankfully not marked the paintwork and thus in an ideal situation, could be removed via a paintless dent removal service. These do not detract from the look of the car in the slightest. 

The trim and brightwork dotted around the car is in wonderful shape, the chrome still has an excellent shine to it and presents beautifully. The car benefits from a replacement front bumper that has been fitted under its current ownership. Emerging from just behind the bumper are four excellent Mini cooper spotlights within their Cooper branded casings. The car sits on 4 excellent 12” Cooper alloy wheels, all of which are in brilliant shape and are housed on 4 great tyres. 

It's clear to see this Mini has benefitted from excellent storage by its current owner. 

Opening the bonnet, we find yet more signs of  quality restoration work, in the form of a beautiful 1275cc fuel injected engine, mixed in with some excellent upgraded chrome pipework fitted by the current owner. This engine benefits from a replacement head gasket fitted by a specialist local to the current owner, who spent around £1000 refreshing the mechanics of the Mini upon purchase in 2019. Alongside the head gasket, a service and filter change was undertaken and a new starter motor fitted.

It’s as a result of this that the Mini fires into life quickly and with ease, a beautiful raspy tone produced from the exhaust. The owner reports an excellent dynamic drive, as to be expected of classic Mini. Underneath appears to be just as clean as the rest of this outstanding car, this cleanliness is mirrored on both the engine bay and engine itself, which are nothing short of remarkable.

Benefitting from extensive restoration work as well as a more recent service and head gasket replacement. This incredibly low mileage car presents a very rare opportunity to acquire a truly fine example of a Mini. 

This is a wonderful example of an iconic cult classic, with all of the hard work done ready for the new owner to jump in, drive away and enjoy right from day one.