Martini Mini - 50 years ago

This month, 5 decades ago, spelled the end for the Martini Mini ASC - the only German Mini based car dating back to the 1960s that I know of. And as I have so many historical pictures of the car in the files (all of the pictures below have not yet been seen in Maximum Mini 2), why not publish some of them here and do a little commemorative write-up?

Willi Martini based his workshop in an old garage adjacent the Nürburgring track, which was not a bad idea. He repaired, sold and tuned BMW cars from there and also carried out tours on the track for speed freaks wanting to see it from the passenger seat! A car of his own design was made together with Ford stylist Uwe Bahnsen in 1963 and initially BMW 700 based. But a year later he teamed up with Austin dealer and Mini racer Dieter Mohr from Giessen to turn the car into the Martini Mini ACS (for Austin Cooper S) with 1275 power and a lightweight fibreglass body, which used an Austin grille placed upside down. It was first raced by Mohr and John Aley, who thrashed the car around the 22.8km-long track at 10:50 – a very respectable average speed of 126.33km/h. When the car’s front was badly damaged when it went off the 'Ring in 1965 Martini decided to rebuild the car with some modifications. He got rid of the Austin grille and enlarged the air scoop on the bonnet. The next racing season the Mk2 version, now painted British Racing Green rather then white, appeared at the Nürburgring. It was raced on two occasions in 1965 before disaster struck during the 1000km race of June 1966. The Martini Mini crashed at 200 km/h into a sliding Abarth. It rolled but fortunately driver Ralf Juettner got out unharmed. The car, however, was so badly damaged (pictures here) that there was no chance of rebuilding it and it was scrapped.