Description
The Introduction
How do you introduce the world-famous Mini? It’s as British as fish ‘n’ chips and complaining about the weather, and by the 1990s was beginning to hit - arguably - its greatest prime as a production car. One such 90s legend was the Mini Sprite, with its 1275cc engine.
Introduced in 1983, the Mini Sprite was released ahead of the Mini’s 25th Anniversary and revived a BMC/ Leyland name that had been dormant since 1971. The Sprite was based on the City model and pitched between that version and the Mayfair. It was initially powered by a 998cc A Series which was superseded by the 1275cc A-Plus series engine in 1992. It also featured black Mini Special wheelarch extensions, twin door mirrors, 1275 GT instrumentation, Clubman upper facia and special decals.
The History
The 15th April 1994 was an exciting day for Mrs Mayo, as this was the day she swapped her 2 year old Ford Orion Encore for her brand new Mini Sprite from Wadham Kenning of Dorchester. She was so happy with it that she kept it for the next 22 years!
It lived a very quiet life in sunny Dorset rarely travelling out of the county and accumulating just 18900 miles
Mrs Mayo sadly passed away in 2016 and the Mini was subsequently inherited by her nephew, The Reverend Mackenzie, who despite registering it in his name, never really used the little Mini and in turn sold it to a collector.
We assume by this point that it was starting to look a little tired and a mini restoration (excuse the pun) was undertaken. This included replacement door steps and both outer sills, the car was then stripped and repainted in its original Electric Blue.
It remained part of the gentleman’s collection for the next 6 years accumulating less than 200 miles during that time, most of this mileage was done taking it for its annual MOT! Which brings us up to date and we are very excited to have the opportunity to find a new owner for this gorgeous little Mini.
The Mechanicals
Our little Mini is powered by the wonderful 1275cc A-Plus series motor and is one of the last with a carburettor.
As the Mini had not been used properly for some time we stripped the fuel system out, cleaned the tank, replaced the fuel pump and stripped and cleaned the carb, we are glad to report that it runs perfectly now.
It starts on the first turn of the key and is an absolute hoot out on the road, with the combination of the go kart handling and the very perky 1275 under the bonnet, it cant fail to put a smile on your face!
The Exterior
Living in a heated garage since its repaint has definitely done the Sprite no harm, the paintwork is superb, zero scratches, chips, grazes or scuffs and a mile deep even gloss. The chrome work is again, un marked and it rolls on a set of ultra rare Innocenti Mini De Tomaso rims. These in turn have been freshly powder coated and are wrapped in a matching set of very recent Falken Ziex tyres.
The Interior
At Cult Classics we don’t very much like the term time warp as an adjective but it is quite hard to describe the interior any other way. The upholstery is all unmarked, just some very light creasing to the material on the drivers seat bolster. The carpets, trim and headlining, all unmarked, switch gear, instruments and steering wheel, you guessed it, all unmarked and everything works, not that there is a lot that can go wrong! Moving to the boot, everything is just as it should be, including the spare wheel and the original jack.
The Paperwork
The Mini comes with a ring binder full of assorted paperwork including the original sales invoice from Wadham Kenning, a hand written letter from the Reverend Mackenzie verifying that it was his Aunties car and that the mileage is correct, her old V5s and of course its current one, the original book pack with operation manual and service book, loads of old MOT certificates, lots of invoices for parts bought for its recommissioning work and even a selection of its old tax discs.
The Conclusion
This truly is an exceptional example of a much loved and iconic little car. With 99. 9% of its paltry 19035 miles accumulated by 1 lady owner and the superb standard of the repaint, it makes this little Sprite the perfect addition to any collection or great retro daily driver.
