Photo: David Brown Automotive
Designed by the illustrious Alec Issigonis who also gave us the Morris Minor, the Mini died a slow death at the hands of British Leyland. Instead of redesigns, the automotive conglomerate made things worse for the iconic model through subpar build quality and one too many strikes.
The Rover Group made things better with single-point injection for the Mark VI and twin-point injection for the Mark VII, but still, it was too little too late for Issigonis’ masterpiece. Thankfully for Mini enthusiasts, there are plenty of companies out there willing to improve the urban dweller.
One of these companies is David Brown Automotive, which is getting international recognition with its Mini Remastered series. The cream of the crop is dubbed Oselli Edition, and as the headline implies, every single unit takes more than 1,400 hours of hand-built precision from start to finish.
The first of 60 examples have just been delivered to a customer in Scandinavia with Carbon Gray paint and Heritage Green accents, a number-delete grille, Graphite-finished alloy wheels, and a four-seat configuration. According to the Silverstone-based outfit, the coming months will see a handful more cars going to American, Asian, and European customers.
Named after classic car specialist and engine tuner Oselli, this lovable machine is rocking an A-series powerplant just like the original Mini. The inline-four mill is enlarged to 1.5 liters, gifted with a performance-oriented camshaft and pistons, and improved with a hand-ported cylinder head for a little more grunt. In combination with a freer-flowing exhaust system and two SU carburetors, the Oselli makes 123 bhp and 113 lb-ft (153 Nm).
Capable of hitting 62 miles per hour (100 kilometers per hour) in 7.8 seconds with the help of a five-speed manual transmission, the limited-run model isn’t cheap. Just around £100,000, which is $132,075 at current exchange rates, buys you the standard specification although “standard” doesn’t make it justice compared to the regular Mini. If you want custom touches with your Mini Remastered Oselli Edition, prepare to pay extra.
One of these companies is David Brown Automotive, which is getting international recognition with its Mini Remastered series. The cream of the crop is dubbed Oselli Edition, and as the headline implies, every single unit takes more than 1,400 hours of hand-built precision from start to finish.
The first of 60 examples have just been delivered to a customer in Scandinavia with Carbon Gray paint and Heritage Green accents, a number-delete grille, Graphite-finished alloy wheels, and a four-seat configuration. According to the Silverstone-based outfit, the coming months will see a handful more cars going to American, Asian, and European customers.
Named after classic car specialist and engine tuner Oselli, this lovable machine is rocking an A-series powerplant just like the original Mini. The inline-four mill is enlarged to 1.5 liters, gifted with a performance-oriented camshaft and pistons, and improved with a hand-ported cylinder head for a little more grunt. In combination with a freer-flowing exhaust system and two SU carburetors, the Oselli makes 123 bhp and 113 lb-ft (153 Nm).
Capable of hitting 62 miles per hour (100 kilometers per hour) in 7.8 seconds with the help of a five-speed manual transmission, the limited-run model isn’t cheap. Just around £100,000, which is $132,075 at current exchange rates, buys you the standard specification although “standard” doesn’t make it justice compared to the regular Mini. If you want custom touches with your Mini Remastered Oselli Edition, prepare to pay extra.
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