Mini Designer

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That the Mini survived in production for over 40 years should be no surprise to anyone. Classless, compact and huge fun to drive, it had qualities that will never go out of fashion.

Such was the brilliance of the original design that concepts introduced at its launch still form the basis for most small cars today. Good though it was, it was widely assumed that the Mini would cease production following the introduction of the more practical hatchback Metro in 1980, although the product planners at the factory had never looked at it this way.

In fact the venerable Mini was to outlive the new pretender by a full two years, soldiering on until 2000 by which time a staggering 5.5 million had been sold, supported by the Cooper models and a bewildering range of special editions which kept interest in the product alive.

One such special edition was the Mini Designer of 1988, a limited run of 2,000 cars based on the Mini City but with a black and white striped interior designed by Mary Quant and with a Nimbus Grey roof over black or white bodywork. Other features included tinted glass, opening rear side windows, leather-rim steering wheel, vanity mirrors in each sunvisor, ‘Designer’ body logos plus Quant daisy motifs on the steering wheel and bonnet badge. It was powered by the usual 998cc engine which produced 39bhp and gave the little car 80mph performance.

First registered in September 1988, this particular car has grey over black paintwork and is said by the vendor to “sit and drive well with a good interior” but has been in storage since 2011 when the last MOT expired. Driven some 90 miles to the sale on trade plates, we are told that it now requires “some TLC to get it through the next MOT”. Supplied with a small amount of history and showing some 85,940 miles on the clock, it should be a fairly straightforward undertaking to get it back on the road where it belongs.