Lot 232 - 1994 Rover Mini Cabriolet

The Rover Mini Cabriolet was launched in July 1993 and depending on who you speak to or which magazine article you read, production numbers were as low as 300, making it one of the rarest Mini's ever to go on sale. In the UK alone, Rover had 700 dealers - this means that most of the dealerships never sold a single car and probably never even saw one! When the Mini Cabriolet went on sale in July 1993, the price at the dealer was £11,995 - quite a tidy sum for a Mini. Rover's official Cabriolet was based on the LAMM version, which was a Mini convertible built by one of Rover's German companies. In 1991, only 75 LAMM Mini's made it into England and were sold out in days. Copying this German version, the Rover model included a full colour-matched body kit, which included massive front and rear wheel arch extensions, a big front spoiler incorporating extra driving lamps, side skirts and a large rear bumper. Fitted with the same 1275cc engine as the Mini Copper S and car was shod with 175/70-section tyres on 12inch, five-spoke Revolution alloy wheels instead of the standard wheels. The interior conversion was equally impressive, there was a new-style wood-grain dashboard, door-top cappings and gear stick knob, and fitted with Recaro seats. The Cabriolet was originally only available in two colours, Caribbean Blue and Nightfire Red. In 1994, British Racing Green was introduced. The manual hood is easily raised and lowered in seconds. Two clips on the the top of the windscreen surround lock the hood in the closed position. Simply unclip these and lift the hood backwards till it rests on the boot. The hood frame was manufactured by Tickford and each frame has a unique serial number.

This Rover Mini Cabriolet had one owner from new up to 2016, it was purchased by her husband from Lex Mead in Maidenhead Berkshire, he went there to buy a Land Rover and came back with the Mini as well. This Cabriolet has only covered 55,400 miles from new, in her ownership it was only used locally except for a couple of trips to their second home in Cornwall; this is confirmed by the service book and old MoT test certificates. These also show that the car has covered less than 5,000 miles in the last ten years and 3,000 miles since its last service in 2008 by a local garage. Since 2016, the car has had very little use being in a private collection. Finished in Nightfire Red with grey interior and walnut woodwork, this excellent example is supplied with a V5C registration document, a handbook pack containing the original handbooks and service book. It is also supplied with two keys and fobs and a file containing old MoT test certificates and invoices. This is an opportunity to purchase one of the rarest Mini’s built, an investment and an ideal car for the summer.

*Interested parties should note that this Mini Cabriolet has failed the MoT test on exhaust emissions, the Vendor will collect the car from the auction and rectify the issue before the new owner can collect the car.