Mini Park Lane

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The Park Lane was one in a series of limited edition Minis based on upmarket London landmarks: Picadilly, Chelsea, Mayfair and the Ritz also featured. Nowadays, associating one’s product with areas frequented by Russian gangsters and dodgy financiers might have less marketing appeal - unless, of course, you’re selling Range Rover Sports.

Identifying features of the Park Lane included a sports steering wheel, stereo radio/cassette player, “Exclusive” Park Lane interior trim, unique exterior brightwork and a “distinctive black exterior with graphics”. Output was limited to just 1,500 examples.

D817 SNT is a very smart example which has seen some major expenditure in recent years. The vendor has had the car restored over the last two years, which included fitting a new rear sub-frame, new rear suspension, new wings and panels, exhaust, radiator and water pump amongst many other items.

The car was also re-sprayed and those of you who know your Minis will have noticed that it is a lovely dark rich shade of brown, making it probably unique for a Park Lane – the factory colour was always black. The vendor took a shine to the colour (so to speak) and decided that, in this case individuality trumped originality; only a purist would gainsay him.

It is believed that the car was taken off the road by the previous owner at the end of the last century until our vendor found it. The recorded mileage – 58,269 – is believed to be correct. The car has an MOT to April 2020 with an advisory note which refers to some deterioration in the rear tyres – not exactly a difficult or expensive feature to fix.

At the very reasonable estimate quoted, this Mini is a very attractive proposition and a practical and economical entry into classic car ownership.