One of my favorite Mini Variants of the '60's was the Minisprint. By performing a roof and body chop the Mini was transformed. In my opinion this is how the Mini should look. Side by side it almost makes a standard car look too tall. See what you think.

The Minisprint story started in '65 when saloon car racer Neville Tricket decided to build a chopped mini for the '66 season. The idea behind this was to reduce the frontal area of the car, in turn reducing drag and possibly saving weight. Unfortunately the regulations were changed during the off season and the car ended up competing in the GT class where it lost some of that advantage racing against more exotic machinery.

The decision was made to produce cars for both the track and public. Geoff Thomas entered the scene, providing financial backing and premises for the project to take off. Geoff and Neville along with two other mechanics set about the task. Problems were encountered getting a good fit on the door apertures and fitting the expensive cut down windscreens which would often crack.
Sprint variants: Tricket original (black), Stuart & Ardern (purple), Speedwell Sprint (green) Picture - Miniworld April 1996
  

 

The team produced cars for a couple of years, mostly saloons as well as the odd estate, several of them for overseas customers. In total they made somewhere in the region of 85 cars before the project was sold on.

BMC dealer Stuart and Ardern, the largest dealer in London at the time, stepped in and took over the project. They were able to invest in marketing the project with glossy brochures and stands at motor shows. In order to make the cars meet road regulations of the time it was necessary to raise the headlights to get the minimum allowable ground clearance. This was done by squaring off the front wings and fitting oval lights. However, by '68 the lack of demand for the conversions lead to the project being shelved. The original Minisprint had come to the end of the road.

Square head light detail on Stuart & Ardern cars Picture Miniworld April 1996

 

There have been a few attempts over the years to resurrect the Minisprint, some more successful than others as well as a few variations on the theme. It is still possible today to have one hand built by several UK companies although due to the huge amount of work involved it doesn't come cheap.

If you're a bit of handyman you could of course have a go at building one yourself. It seems there is variety of ways to cut the body down, either at the sill or most often slightly higher up. Then there is the roof. Depending on the look you are after the roof pillar can either be cut and shortened, replacing the front and back screens with cut down items. Alternatively the standard height screens can be maintained by cutting across the roof from left to right, raking the pillars back and removing the overlap in the roof. This gives a far more streamlined look and often requires the removal of the roof channel.

 
When I set up this site a few years back I only had a small amount of pictures and information. This has grown considerably to the point where it is worth putting in some kind of order. Thanks to all the people around the world who have emailed me and sent links, pictures, copy or just encouragement for the site. It's always a pleasure to make contact with fellow enthusiasts. Please keep it coming.

Below are links to some of this information.
  • Well, I couldn't have all this info without having a sprint of my own could I? As I'm not in a position to purchase one ready made I'm making one of my own. At least that's the plan! It's not much to look at right now but to follow my progress go to the Squashy page here.
  • As you now know Geoff Thomas was involved with the sprint right from the start. Geoff has his own site which details his recollections of the Minisprint days as well as his passion for classic motorcycles. Geoff's Site
  • Another great source of information is the ezboard Specialist Mini Forums. This is a one of my regular haunts and has several sprint owners who make regular contributions. The Minisprint Forum

 

This car was built by John Hodge of Planetmini in the UK. John has kept the standard height height screens and raked them back to give quite a streamlined effect. This is accentuated by the sloped front which is another feature he's added. There's a Metro turbo engine under the bonnet which along with the reduced frontal area makes it a real flyer.

John has been kind enough to give a detailed description of how he built the car here. He also has his own website. Planetmini

 
One of the best replicas available in recent times is the Hawk sprint. Built by Hawk cars who, amongst other things produce a very good Lancia Stratos Replica. This car is a fibreglass composite shell with steel reinforcement bonded into high stress areas. Based on a MKIII shell the car has internal hinges but has several cues back to the MKI such as the rear lights and curved fronts to the doors where they meet the "A" panels. Sadly production was halted by an injunction by Rover/BMW. Click here to find out more about Hawk sprint.
This is the Rob Walker replica Minisprint produced by Church Green Engineering. The car is based on a 1964 Mini and has been chopped by 3". The colour scheme is dark blue with a white strip across the bonnet to link in with the Walker theme (Rob Walker's Formula One cars of the 60's used the same livery). This picture was taken in 1994 so I can't say if the cars are still being produced. This company also produce a fantastic copy of the Broadspeed GT. Contact details at the time were: Church Green Engineering: 0044 1747 53456

I also have an article from Classic & Sportscar on this vehicle. Page1 Page2 Page3
This is Dave ?'s 1963 sprint. The car is based on an original 998cc Cooper shell which has been converted by M-Machine of Darlington. Dave has then built the car up himself to the high standard you see here. Dave also has his own accessory business called Minishak. You'll find more details and pictures of his sprint at the Minishak site.

This little monster was put together by Speedwell for an Australian customer. Based on a 1963 car it now sports a KAD 16v head, 5 speed box and all the bells and whistles you can think of if you had just won the lottery. I have heard that it was campaigned in the Targa Tasmania a few times, coming to grief on one occasion and has now been rebuilt.

Here is an article from Autospeed with the full details.

 

The front car in this picture is the Hamlin and Charles Minisprint. In 1966 it was reputed to be the fastest mini in the world and was clocked at 132 MPH. The standing quarter mile times were quite impressive too and it was timed at 127 mph. The car was built on a 1959 donor car and had 2 1/2 inches taken out of the pillars with a standard mini screen well raked back. A customized front was fabricated with an alloy bonnet, front valance, door skins and boot lid. Running Cooper S mechanicals the car was very competitive. The car in the background is also a sprint, I have been told it is thought to be an original built by Neville Trickett and Geoff Thomas. Sadly this car was written off several years ago.

I haven't come across many sprints in New Zealand and certainly don't know anyone who owns one. I do have a few pictures, you can see them here.

 
This is the British Vita's team of 1968. The car centred in this shot won the Northern Hill Climb Championship that year. This 1293 lightweight machine had an 8 port headed, Fuel injected, Supercharged 180bhp engine. The car has been modified to the GT category from the previous years special saloon.

Picture and text from Mark Forster. Mark hosts one of the most detailed sites on the MK1 Mini which is well worth a look. Mark's site
Heaps more coming soon....... Watch this space.