autoevolution
 

This Odd Mini Can Be Yours for Around $10K

The add we found says the thing you’re looking at here is a “lovely restored Wolseley Hornet MKII”. You could call us a bunch of liars for not telling you that in the title, but fact is, this car is actually based on the oldschool Mini.
Wolseley Hornet MKII 9 photos
Photo: eBay/edited by autoevolution
Wolseley Hornet MKII for saleWolseley Hornet MKII for saleWolseley Hornet MKII for saleWolseley Hornet MKII for saleWolseley Hornet MKII for saleWolseley Hornet MKII for saleWolseley Hornet MKII for saleWolseley Hornet MKII for sale
You might know the classic Mini for being one of the most iconic cars for the masses - cheap, compact, simple, economical and easy to maintain. Fact is that it also had a slightly upper market version version going by the name of Wolseley Hornet, an experiment not many know of, built by British coachbuilder company Fisher & Ludlow.

The posher Mini variant was wearing a different a-la-Rolls-Royce vertical grille and had slightly finned rear wings which also made the boot larger and helped giving the hatch a more traditional three-box look.

Almost everything else remained the same, including the car's wheelbase, width and height. It came, however, with slightly bigger chromed hubcaps, additional trimmings, bumper overriders, wood-veneer instrument panel and some other minor tweaks.

The model on sale here is a Mark II, meaning it comes with the bigger 998cc Mini Cooper inline-four engine (first series had 848cc engines) which can push it up to 77 mph (124 km/h). The tiny unit is mated to a simple four-speed manual gearbox, while the rest of the mechanics remained as with the original car.

The owner says the Hornet here has been fully restored, all fluids have been changed recently and the car runs great, with only 12,509 miles (20,131 km) added on the clock since restoration. The current bid is set at $10,100 (€7,924) and if the steering wheel position is the only thing keeping you from making a better offer is the steering wheel position, no, it’s not on the right side.
If you liked the article, please follow us:  Google News icon Google News Youtube Instagram X (Twitter)
 

Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?

You will only receive our top stories