2001 Rover Mini Cooper

Beautifully retro-modded to look like an early Mini Cooper S at a cost of around £16,000 in 2017, this delightful Old English White Mini Cooper started drawing considerable interest from the first moment we set it on preview.

An “absolutely incredible little thing” according to the chap in the office who was lucky enough to be able to take it for a test drive, it is beautifully finished. Combining the very best of all worlds it blends a wonderfully retro exterior, the later ergonomic and safe interior, and reliable modern mechanical components.

The vendor is a discerning collector of modern classics and hot-hatchbacks, and took it in part-exchange from the chap who commissioned the work.

Being offered with a very sensible reserve price, this is your chance to get your hands on a Mini Cooper evocation in the same mould as Singer Porsche or an Icon Land Cruiser – but for a fraction of the price of either, obviously…

Old English White is a classic colour and a great choice for a retro-modded Mini. Originally British Racing Green and then a metallic blue, the bodyshell was completely stripped down before being repainted - and a great deal of effort has clearly gone into getting everything rust-free and perfectly lined up, too.

The work was meticulous, and included a MKI headlight conversion and new Heritage panels including a pair of front wings. Please see the photo album to see just how meticulously the work was carried out.

It still looks absolutely terrific, and has been carefully dressed with details like the extensive chromework, all of which is in a very good condition. We especially like the retro chrome radiator grille, which acts as a foil to the Old English White coachwork and Lucas spotlights. (Is a performance Mini even a Mini without extra lighting?)

There is yet more chrome courtesy of the wonderfully delicate wiper arms, bullet door mirrors, and the ‘Mini Cooper S’ and ‘Austin Cooper’ badging. Other nice touches include a vintage-style fuel filler cap, a fat exhaust pipe poking out from underneath the chrome rear bumper, and a set of clear front indicators.

The gloss black wheelarches – with matching roof natch - cover wider-than-standard tyres. Fitted to 13-inch, split-rim, Minilite-style ‘Supalight’ alloy wheels, the 175/50R13 Yokohama A539 tyres have good tread left and endow the Mini with other-worldly levels of grip.

Plus, as we will never tyre of explaining, our experience shows that matching high-quality tyres are an infallible sign of a caring and mechanically sympathetic owner who is prepared to spend the appropriate amount in maintaining their car properly. Their presence does not, of course, preclude the need for a thorough inspection - something the vendor would welcome, by the way – but do give you a shortcut into their attitude towards maintenance.

Problems? Well, there is a little rubbing inside the bonnet shut, a tiny crack in the paint at the top of the offside C-pillar seam, and some untidiness at the top of the offside A-pillar. All look to be minor and because few colours are as easy to match as white, localised repairs should be straightforward. Close inspection reveals the “chrome” plastic strip around the gutters has popped off in a couple of places, but the seller has kindly supplied replacements for the new owner to fit.

Oh, and the spotlights aren’t connected, so if you wanted them to work then they will need wiring up.

The interior is anything but retro; wonderfully decadent, it’s a lovely place to be and streets ahead of the austere 60’s original – and all the better for being so.

You’ll find supportive and comfortable high-back, cream-and-black leather seats in the front, with matching rears and new seatbelts. In a fabulous, largely unworn condition, they’re beautifully stitched and set the tone for the rest of the high-quality cockpit.

The three-spoke metal-and-leather Mota-Lita steering wheel is exactly the sort of small-diameter, fat-rimmed jobbie you’d hope to find in a Mini like this, and it has been fitted with a lowering bracket to give a better driving position.

It is matched with an alloy-topped, leather-swathed gearlever, a 110mph speedometer, and drilled and polished door and window winder handles, the overall effect being a carefully considered balance between decadence and performance.

The door cards are in great shape too, as are the new carpets and perforated headlining. The full-width walnut dashboard is in great shape and studded with ivory-faced gauges. An Alpine, Bluetooth-equipped headunit powers uprated Alpine speakers set in the rear parcel shelf.

The boot floor might be a little grubby, but it is utterly solid. Home to the fuel tank, spare steel wheel and what looks like a new battery, the carpeted trim panels finish it all off very neatly.

Faults are few and seem to be limited to a slightly wrinkled offside rear quarter panel trim, and a couple of imperfections inside the door shuts and on the leading edge of the offside and nearside window frames.

The Mini has been fitted with many new parts including some upgrades such as a set of Gaz adjustable dampers, a stainless steel exhaust system, drilled and vented front brake discs, and an adjustable camber kit.

Please see the attached invoices for the full details, but we’ve driven it and can confirm that it is “great to drive” and an “absolutely incredible little thing” overall.

The engine bay is very clean and home to a beautifully detailed engine that has been discreetly updated with some alloy and chrome components and trim.

The wheelarches and sills are painted, all the better to show off straight, solid metalwork and some freshly fitted mechanical components.

However, the underside is undersealed and while it is generally in great shape it has started to crack in a couple of places, which has allowed surface rust to develop. This looks to be superficial for the time being, so could be easily caught with a wire brush, some high-quality underseal and a couple of hours of elbow grease. Please see the photos for details.

The Mini’s MOT certificate expires in July 2020, and was gained without a single advisory point, something it has been doing since 2013.

The car comes with a number of expired MOT certificates plus a thick sheaf of invoices and bills to confirm the work that has been done to it over the years.

It also comes with two sets of keys and a photo album of the work being carried out, complete with a typed description of the images.

Please visit the documents section of the gallery of this listing where you will find photos of this and other paperwork to support our claim that this car has been created to a very high standard.

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.

NB. We know that many of you will be limiting your social exposure over the coming days and weeks, so if you’d rather not come to see the car in person, please give us a call and we can shoot a personal video of the car honing in on any areas you’d like us to concentrate on.

Or, even better, why not contact us with your mobile number and we can set up a WhatsApp video call? You get to direct us in real-time, giving you a virtual personal viewing experience while maintaining the lockdown. We like to call it ‘The Market’s 2020 Vision’…

Retro-modded cars like the Singer Porsche 911 paved the way for a whole generation of retro-modded classic cars that seamlessly blend the old and the new to give the best of both scenes.

And this lovely Mini, registered in 2001, is very much of that idiom; built at a cost of around £16,000 for the conversion alone, its iconic Mini Copper S looks are wonderfully complemented by a luxurious interior and modern, partly uprated mechanicals to create a very usable modern classic that is capable of fulfilling a wide variety of roles.

Which makes our guide price of between £11,000 and £16,000 look like good value to us. Not the cheapest Mini you’ll see this year, we nonetheless think it’ll be a great buy for someone looking for iconic classic transport but who isn’t prepared to compromise on reliability and safety to get it.

Viewing is always encouraged, and this particular car is located with us at The Market HQ near Abingdon; to arrange an appointment please use the Contact Seller button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.

If needed, please remember we have a network of trusted suppliers we work with regularly and can recommend: Classic & Sportscar Finance for purchase-financing, Footman James for classic car insurance Thames Valley Car Storage for storing your car and AnyVan for transporting it.

BORING, but IMPORTANT: Please note that whilst we at The Market always aim to offer the most descriptive and transparent auction listings available, we cannot claim they are perfect analyses of any of the vehicles for sale. We offer far greater opportunity for bidders to view, or arrange inspections for each vehicle thoroughly prior to bidding than traditional auctions, and we never stop encouraging bidders to take advantage of this. We do take a good look at the vehicles delivered to our premises for sale, but this only results in our unbiased personal observations, not those of a qualified inspector or other professional, or the result of a long test drive.

Also, localised paint repairs are common with collectable and classic cars and if they have been professionally carried out then they may be impossible to detect, even if we see the car in person. So, unless we state otherwise, please assume that any vehicle could have had remedial bodywork at some point in its life.

Additionally, please note that most of the videos on our site have been recorded using simple cameras which often result in 'average' sound quality; in particular, engines and exhausts notes can sound a little different to how they are in reality.

Please note that this is sold as seen and that, as is normal for used goods bought at auction, the Sale of Goods Act 1979 does not apply. See our FAQs for more info, and feel free to inspect any vehicle as much as you wish.