1976 Leyland Mini 1000

Based on a 1976 Mini 1000 that is now in need of some attention, this 'Mr Bean' car is fitted with automatic transmission, presumably as the somewhat distracted Mr Bean would not have coped well with the demands of a manual gearbox while seated on the roof and trying to steer it with bits of string.

The Mini is a full five-seater - if you include the armchair on the roof, which is part of the sale.

With its distinctive paintwork, including a black painted bonnet and outside door lock bolt to the driver's door, this car certainly stands out from other Minis.

The roof bears the signature ‘Rowan Atkinson’ and the date of January 2015.

The following is stencilled onto the side of the car.

“This is one [sic] the original Mr Bean MINl's [sic] from the hit TV series”.

Which may or may not be accurate. Who knows?

The car has come to us from the now defunct London Motor Museum and is offered for sale on instruction of a high court ruling.

We know very little about it, other than that it is RHD and has the chassis number FZ190198C.

It has 36,139 miles on the odometer. We have not started or driven the car – it will need recommissioning.

The panels are pretty straight and largely free of any dinks, dents, creases, ripples or folds to speak of.

The chrome work is fairly decent but there’s some foxing and pitting in evidence here and there.

The lights and badges appear OK. The top louvre on the chrome grille seems to be partly missing.

There are scratches on the roof (presumably where the armchair has been sitting).

The most notable issue, however, is the bubbling and corrosion that has made itself apparent in many seams, along the sills and on most panels to a greater or lesser extent.

It will need looking at sooner rather than later.

We have nothing to compare it with so it’s difficult to say if this is a ‘good example’ of a ‘Mr Bean’ Mini.

The inside is functional and spartan in the traditional Mini way. The seats are in decent condition, front and back, and the door cards and headlining are OK.

The dashboard is reasonable too, although, as we haven’t started the car, we can’t vouch for the efficacy of any dials, levers, knobs, switches, levers or gauges.

The big issue becomes apparent when you lift up the carpets and mats on the passenger side. There’s plenty of rust in evidence and a 10cm wide hole in the floor pan where the oxidisation has really gone to work. There is also rust in evidence along the sills.

There’s a fair bit of rust here, some superficial, some decidedly not. You’ll need to see it for yourself to assess the full extent and significance of it.

We can’t see anything that overly troubles us in the engine bay.

We know it’s been in a ‘museum’ for quite a few years and we know that it has been a running, working vehicle at some point in the not-too-distant past.

The car has neither a current MoT certificate nor any history or service records.

If you’d like to inspect the car prior to placing a bid – something we would encourage – then please use the Contact Seller button to arrange an appointment.

Whether you want it as a novelty ‘Mr Bean’ homage, or simply as a Mini 1000, this car is a light project in need of an enthusiast with the right amounts of patience, expertise and loose change.

We are happy to offer this vehicle for auction with no reserve and an estimate in the range of £5,000 - £8,000.

The car is located at a secure storage facility in Northampton; it is not possible to view the car before the auction end. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’