system comprising a 9” Alpine screen
in the dash, speakers, an amp and a
subwoofer and the rear seat is trimmed
around the sub. The steering column is
our SVA-approved collapsible column
that we put in our mid-engine Z Cars.
The cowling and the stalks come from a
not-so-glamorous Citroën Berlingo van.
They fit well round the steering column.”
The boot is trimmed very nicely too.
David liked the fact that Mini fans
would be surprised that such a
traditionally-styled Mini had a Ford
engine under its bonnet. “I just thought
that was a way of showing how stealth
the conversion is. If we turn up to a show
it’ll be like ‘oh, someone else has done
an Italian Job lookalike’ but actually, if
they get closer, they’ll see our take on it
and there won’t be another one like it.
It’s a way of saying to people that you
could make it more for the purist so we
made it like a Mk1 and not overstated.
You wouldn’t know until you lift the
bonnet or start it up and hear the turbo.”
Z Cars even sells the leather bonnet
straps if you fancy this look on your Mini.
The Mini has a Janspeed exhaust
that David had fitted to the 1380cc
1275GT that he owned a number of
years ago. “I had that in my loft.”
So what is the car like to drive and why
should someone choose an EcoBoost
over an A-series? “It just doesn’t compare
because it’s got so much torque, it’s
economical, it’s quieter. That’s not to talk
down the A-series. If you want to do a
lot to an A-series you make it unreliable,
difficult to live with, what with straight-
cut gears, etc. and, when you factor all
that in with how much this conversion
costs, what you are getting with this kit
is the same or more power and there’s
its tractability. It’s docile and economical
plus you won’t want to kill each other
if you take a passenger to a show and
back. For me it makes all those driving
vibration noises that I’ll never grow out
of in a car, and to have them coming out
of a Mini is something quite fun. I also
find this car very practical as it’ll pull in
any gear, although I admit that I haven’t
driven an A-series for so long now. This
engine feels very different in the Mini
but it feels right and I don’t think it feels
out of place. Of course, all the whistles
and pops and bangs, you can turn
them on and off with a map. If anyone
wants something very stealthy indeed
you can probably take that away but it
will still never sound like an A-series.”
From a passenger’s point of view,
travelling in the car at low speeds was
pleasant, due to the engine being very
quiet, which would make it ideal for
commuting purposes. But when David
put his foot down it’s clear that the
tyres could spin up very easily. It would
be interesting to see how it performs
on the open road to really experience
all that torque. Ford has won seven
MiniWorld June 2019 39
»
The non-standard subframe suggests that
there's something interesting going on here.There's not much room
for any gold bullion in this
neatly-trimmed boot. Fuel tanks
provide a 600-mile range.