1963 Austin Mini Mk.I Super De Luxe

The Mini came to be born due to the fuel shortage caused by the 1956 Suez Crisis. Petrol was rationed in the UK and sales of large family cars slumped, whilst the market for German made "bubble' cars boomed. Leonard Lord, the head of BMC, reportedly disliked these German cars so much that he vowed to remove them from the UK streets and design a 'proper miniature car' as a replacement.

Project ADO15 (Austin Drawing Office project number 15), was born. By October 1957, they had designed and built the original prototype, which was affectionately named "The Orange Box" because of its colour.

Although sales initially started slowly, the Mark I sales strengthened in the 1960s, and production totalled over 1 million. The Mini was sold at a price that was almost below what it cost to produce, as a result it made very little money for BMC. Ford once dismantled one, to see if they could offer an alternative. They concluded that an alternative could not be built and sold at BMC's price, which lead to the birth of the Ford Cortina. The Mini etched its place into popular culture in the 1960s with well-publicised purchases by film and music stars.This 1963 Austin Mini Mk I is a fantastic early example. It has been subject to a recent complete bare metal restoration, which began in 2010 and was completed in March of this year.The vendor has restored the car with the idea of returning the car to its original factory specification. As can be seen by the photos, the attention to detail of this restoration is fantastic, and the car looks as though it has just rolled of the production line.Fitted in the car is the original 848cc engine which was given a mechanical refresh to insure its longevity. No nut was left unturned during the rebuild, which included reconditioning of the suspension. The original interior was also retained and reconditioned to insure the car was kept as original as possible.Presented with the car is a substantial history file, which contains invoices that support the cost of the restoration along with a heritage certificate for the car.This mini is fantastic useable example and will no doubt provide enjoyment for many years to come.