Thanks to reader Martin Andersson we know that the Swedish Holmbarth 1100 survived at least until 2008 and was actually known as the Automec Special using the front end of an Ogle SX1000 as a rear... (click here). If it remained largely intact for such a long time, it shouldn't be a surprise it exists to this day. And it does. Martin as well as fellow-Swede Micke Pettersson both sent me an article that was published in the December 2015 issue of The Mini Times - the magazine of the Mini Seven Club of Sweden.
My Swedish is not particularly good, but Martin was kind enough to sum up the contents, from which I also lifted these images. He wrote: "In the article I sent to you, it says apart from the story I told you earlier, that Per-Erik Holm together with another BMC mechanic Kjell Andersson had a part time garage themselves in conjunction with their daily work at BMC Sweden Competition Department.
That garage was called 'Bredängs Automec' hence the name for the car that eventually evolved from it."
"The GRP bodyshell was made and applied by a man called Sven-Eric Carrhagen (That name is familiar to me but unfortunately I can't remember who he was right now). It says that Carrhagen brought the Ogle front end to the project. When the car was finished the kerb weight was 365kgs and the engine was a 1300cc tuned to group 4 regulations mated to a sccr gearbox. The topspeed would have been in the area of 200kph at 8000rpm. When the restoration started it was found to still have its sccr gearset under the 1100 engine."
Micke, who wrote the article in The Mini Times and who interviewed holm at the time added: "There has been a follow up on this article with the car in its new paint. I will dig out the pictures."
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My Swedish is not particularly good, but Martin was kind enough to sum up the contents, from which I also lifted these images. He wrote: "In the article I sent to you, it says apart from the story I told you earlier, that Per-Erik Holm together with another BMC mechanic Kjell Andersson had a part time garage themselves in conjunction with their daily work at BMC Sweden Competition Department.
That garage was called 'Bredängs Automec' hence the name for the car that eventually evolved from it."
"The GRP bodyshell was made and applied by a man called Sven-Eric Carrhagen (That name is familiar to me but unfortunately I can't remember who he was right now). It says that Carrhagen brought the Ogle front end to the project. When the car was finished the kerb weight was 365kgs and the engine was a 1300cc tuned to group 4 regulations mated to a sccr gearbox. The topspeed would have been in the area of 200kph at 8000rpm. When the restoration started it was found to still have its sccr gearset under the 1100 engine."
Micke, who wrote the article in The Mini Times and who interviewed holm at the time added: "There has been a follow up on this article with the car in its new paint. I will dig out the pictures."
The Automec Special survives to this day and is seen here under restoration in 2015
Picture The Mini Times
No, that's not the front but the back, using an Ogle SX1000 front!
Picture The Mini Times
Engine is a 1300 now, mated to the original SCCR gearbox of the Swedish Special
Picture The Mini Times
Automec of Bredang was set up by BMC mechanics Per-Erik Holm and Kjell Andersson
Picture Tradera.com
The Automec Special during its construction in what must be 1967
Picture The Mini Times
The little boy in these pictures is Micke, son of the car's builder Pelle Holm
Picture The Mini Times
Said to weigh just 365kgs and be able to top 200kmh, the car was raced at one time
Picture The Mini Times