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Zandvoort 52 years ago - Nieuwenhuis Special
Last weekend, the Dutch Grand Prix was supposed to take place at the Zandvoort circuit but we all know that it is now postponed. To ease the pain (to some - I am not a Formula 1 fan myself), here some...
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Dutch Buggy book is a real labour of love
This is a bit of a Dutch week, here on Maximum Mini. First there was this barn find Mini Jem (here) and the Dutch-built Nieuwenhuis Special on Zandvoort (here); this time it's a Dutch book about...
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Jola and Grimes Autotest Specials
Autotest champion Alastair Moffatt - who recently purchased MoBi-One - found some more interesting Mini based vehicles in his photo files. He wrote:"Hi Jeroen. I found these pictures of an autotest car...
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How a Deep Sanderson racer was turned into a Triumph Special
It's been some time since I wrote about Deep Sandersons, so it was good when Christopher Tamblyn contacted me about one such car. One his stepfather once owned. He wrote:"Dear Jeroen. My stepfather...
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Mystery Mini derivative (65)
A real mystery from an old mid-1990s issue of MiniWorld magazine is reproduced here below. The rear-engined (or mid-engined?) car was found at the time by S. Jones of Marbury, who wrote to the mag: "I...
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Ascender ancestor to Austria
Two and a half years ago, when work on the body shell of my Mini Marcos was still meant to be carried out in the UK (things went differently...) - I found out about a three-wheeler which looked...
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Sri Lanka's MiniSprint
Mini derivatives come from wide and far and if you look at the alphabetical list of labels on the right hand side of this weblog, you may see what your country's contributions to this spectrum are. Sri...
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Mystery Mini derivative (66): Mad NZ Mini Coupe
This Mini coupe could have been made for Mad Max. In fact, it was spotted by Andrew Griffiths, who wrote: "Sorry I have no details. It's a sort of evil brother to the DART, haha!" Its body is seriously...
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Hustler Huntsman Six goes to Belgium
Remember the barn full of Mini derivatives that was sold in auction last year? Well, at least one of them has come in caring hands as I now understand from Lynx Eventer owner Pascal Mathieu of Belgium....
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The Camber in the Castle
It's been some time since I wrote about Camber GTs and Maya GTs here with the last update dating back to some 18 months. Between 1966 and 1968 a grand (?) total of twelve of these cars (six of each...
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The Tonics drive Stimson Safari Six
Ha! This one was a bit of a surprise to me. A single of British pop group The Tonics shows the boys with a Stimson Safari Six. 'All Summer Long' is a Brian Wilson - of Beach Boys fame - song and 'Stand...
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NZ Hamblin Special crashed
These two pictures were posted on Facebook recently but unfortunately I don't know whose photos they are, so do let me know if it was you. Interestingly, they show the Hamblin Mini Special that was...
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France's coachbuilt Mini expert passes away
It is with great sadness that I learned about the unexpected passing of Paul-Marie Jamet today. Paul-Marie contacted me about Taka-Hira Minis only a few years ago for the first time, and we exchanged...
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All about the Hamlin Special - once the Fastest Mini in the World
An overwhelming amount of information has come to me about the Mini Special of Frank Hamlin (not Hamblin), which I wrote about last week (click here). I undersdtand that Hamlin passed away in 2016 but...
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Ex-Pellandini owner buys back Pellandini
David Mottram of Melbourne, Australia got in touch because he'd just become the owner of a rare (7 were made) Pellandini. In fact he became the owner for the second time! This is what he wrote:"Hi...
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Today 54 years ago: Mini Marcos at Le Mans
On Sunday June 19, 1966 at 4:00 PM the Le Mans 24-hours race finished. One day earlier the race had started with a real drama unfolding itself in the next 24 hours on the La Sarthe racing track in...
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Market round-up (Summer 2020)
Just a few remarkable Mini derivatives that have made it to the market lately. Perhaps there's one for you among them..? Keep those tips coming.That Autocom Buggy again! Snapped up by a Frenchman who...
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Mike Garton dies at 84
I'm sad to have learned that another legendary Mini Marcos man passed away yesterday: Mike Garton (1936-2020). Mike was known as a top motor sport scrutineer for much of his life but had raced himself...
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1967 Le Mans Mini Marcos survives - but not in Africa
Breaking news!Following Mike Garton's death (obituary here) I have been digging in my files of the 1967 Le Mans Mini Marcos that was built by Garton for Jem Marsh and I have drawn a remarkable...
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Rare DeJoux and AF Grand Prix for sale
Well well, after Friday's Mini Marcos conundrum (click here) I am receiving messages from far and wide to have more views on all this. That's very good and there will certainly be a follow-up soon but...
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