The original Mini has long been heralded as a wonderful piece of design, and it has become an automotive icon for a reason. The Alec Issigonis design is a marvel of packaging and simplicity, and because they’re compact and lightweight, and the wheels are pushed out to the corners, Minis have been great driving cars since they were introduced. Canadian custom builders Spectre have developed a PNW-inspired monster — called the Type 10 — that changes almost everything about the car except the body shell and the 10-inch wheels. For the better.
There are any number of ways to make a Mini go faster, and probably the best way is to rip out the original 55-horsepower 998cc A-series engine and stuff in a modern 200-something-horsepower Honda K-series. In this case, Spectre have put a naturally-aspirated high-revving 2-liter Honda Civic Si engine where the back seat used to be, and put the fuel tank up front where the old engine used to be. OK, so you lose the back seat and gain around 175 horsepower, that’s a fair trade off.
The engine probably isn’t even in the top ten of the first things you’d notice about this car as you got inside. The seats are lightweight fixed-back carbon jobs, and the rest of the interior looks like it was inspired by a mid-century modern furniture warehouse, packed with shiny exposed metal and gorgeous wood grain. It’s a truly wild look, and I love it.
On the outside, the car retains its original iconic bulldog stance, but almost everything else has been gone over and massaged and replaced. If you’ve always wanted a “Porsche 911 reimagined by Singer” but can’t pony up for the three-quarters of a million dollars or whatever they charge now, you might be able to get Spectre to build you a no-expense-spared Mini for a hundred grand or so.