Mini Magazine January 2022
Mini Magazine: the perfect magazine for anyone who wants to get the best out of their classic Mini. Rammed with technical features, advice, inspirational feature cars and plenty of reader involvement. Please note: This digital version of the magazine does not currently include the covermount items or content you would find on printed newsstand copies
in this issue
welcome
Winter is a time of renewal and rebirth, or so the saying goes. And as the last of the leaves tumble from the trees and the children start to get excited about mince pies and whatnot, you find a different face looking out at you from this intro page. Hi, I’m Dan, and I’ll be your new guide through the fragrant vistas of classic Mini culture. Regular readers will be used to the twinkle-eyed spirit of Gez Hughes sitting in the big chair, and I’ll be doing my very best to live up to the outstanding efforts he’s achieved with Mini Magazine over the years. I’ve got a few fun ideas for you, but don’t panic – I won’t be changing the fundamentals of the mag. Think of it as a…
it’s not easy being green
Ashley Abraham is supremely matter-of-fact about his vivid Mini’s nickname: “It was green when I bought it, so it made sense to call it ‘Hulk’ and the name just stuck,” he grins. “Everyone I know refers to it as that. It also makes me angry sometimes…” Well yes, it wouldn’t be any fun if it was easy, would it? And perhaps the most impressive thing about this perky little saloon is that it’s Ashley’s first proper crack at modifying. Believe it or not, he’s basically got it right first time – although not without a little trial-and-error along the way, of course. This has been a thoroughly in-depth and sleeves-rolled-up sort of project; occasionally infuriating, always intriguing, and representing a frankly astonishing amount of effort. “Hulk is the first car I’ve owned…
northern exposure
The Historic Rally Car Register offers a plethora of historic motorsport events across the calendar, and none is more engaging or hotly contested than the Mini Sport Cup. Sunday October 24th saw the various plucky teams gearing up to compete in the 4th round of the Cup, taking on the formidable Cheviot Stages Rally. Beneath dramatic Northumbrian skies, and competing over thirteen stages on the notoriously difficult Otterburn Ranges, the Mini Sport Cup crews had a real battle on their hands with class honours up for grabs. Current Category 2 Class leaders, Andrew O’Hanlon and Kevin Hogan, had a day of mixed fortunes; having suffered a blown head gasket and handling problems caused by a broken rear shock absorber on the recent Pokerstars Rally on the Isle of Man, the pair…
sussex appeal
Goodwood has announced its show dates for 2022. After the Covid-enforced hiatus of 2020, the ’21 events were bigger and brighter than ever before; you can see our Revival coverage on p.30-33, and we’ll be bringing you coverage of the 78th Members Meeting next month. And now the order books are open for it all to happen again next year: the 79th Members Meeting will run across the weekend of 9th-10th April, the Festival of Speed will take place between 23rd-26th June, and the Revival will be held from 16th-18th September. We’re expecting 2022’s events to be something really special. Tickets are on sale - check availability at www.goodwood.com…
are friends electric?
MOKE International, the company that has owned the Moke rights since 2015, has announced that it will be the world’s first legacy manufacturer to go fully electric. From January 2022, all Mokes built by the company will be EVs – and they’ve got some pretty nifty tech on board too. As well as the 44bhp motor powering the rear wheels, the platform offers regenerative braking and power steering, while aluminium body panels have been used to offset the weight of the electrical gubbins. It still weighs in at 800kg, and the prices are pretty weighty too, starting at a smidge over £29,000 – but if this is what the electric future looks like, we reckon it could be a lot of fun.…
nuts and volts
There’s an increasing interest in the classic car aftermarket for converting older cars to electric power, and a number of attractive and unexpected models have found themselves going under the knife to replace their dino-juice with ones-and-zeroes. The Jaguar E-Type, the Aston Martin DB5, the Citroën DS, they’ve all found themselves getting plugged in… and yes, the Mini is a more than viable option too. Indeed, with Swindon Powertrain’s conversion package, it looks to be pretty unintrusive. One major obstacle for a lot of owners would be the risk of irreversibly altering an original car, but these kits have been designed to be as swappable as possible so as not to do anything that cannot be undone; the stand-alone electric 80 kW continuous (120 kW peak) Classic Mini Kit can…
