At first glance, today’s Nice Price or No Dice Mini may look British, but it’s as Italian as a well-fitting suit and a strong cup of espresso. Let’s see what this rare ride might look to be worth.
The obvious draw of a kit car is its ability to provide an affordable alternative to a classic or otherwise unobtainable automobile. This has resulted in there being more fake Shelby Cobras and Porsche 356 Speedsters on the road than real ones. The cause of last Friday’s 2000 Factory Five Racing GTM wasn’t replicating past glories in fiberglass but creating a whole new experience in the supercar category. That didn’t require a supercar price tag, but even at its $78,000 asking, the GTM suffered the slings and arrows of those among us who just don’t trust a kit car or any amateur-hour builder. That animus resulted in the GTM falling under the assembled weight of an 88 percent No Dice loss.
Seeing as last Friday’s GTM failed to find favor due to its kit car nature, today we’re going to look at another car built from a kit, albeit a kit that was assembled by a professional auto (well, scooter) maker.
What I’m referring to is this 1970 Innocenti Mini 850, a car that I’m sure looks familiar to all, seeing as it is, at its heart, a classic Mini. This one, however, has its own unique and noteworthy provenance. The long and the short of it is that following WWII, the Italian government imposed stiff tariffs on imported cars and trucks to bolster its local automakers and, hence, the economy.
The British Motor Company, seeing an opportunity to sell its soon-to-be-introduced Mini super compact in the Italian market, secured a manufacturing agreement with Innocenti, a company that, at the time, was best known for building the Lambretta motorscooter. Innocenti’s founder, Ferdinando Innocenti, was keen to expand production to automobiles and so struck an agreement to assemble the Mini in his Milan factory.
The first cars rolled off the line in 1965, built from CDK (Complete Knockdown Kit) packages put together by BMC in England and shipped to Italy for assembly. Later cars, like this 1970 version, were built with some local stamping (Innocenti also owned a company making large industrial presses) and other regionally sourced parts.
At first glance, the Innocenti Minis look just like their English cousins, but there are a few notable differences between the nationalities. The Innocenti edition has different front fenders with holes for side marker lamps mandated by Italian government standards, as well as different hood stamping, allowing for a change in the placement of the mounting holes for the Innocenti badge. Out back, the Innocenti received a different boot lid stamping to accommodate the square Italian license plate shape, while in the cabin, Veglia gauges replaced the English cars’ Smiths dials.
All of those changes are evident on this car, which is an early model featuring sliding windows and a chrome multi-bar grille. In fact, aside from the regional changes noted, which few would even notice, there is nothing about this Innocenti to differentiate it from the Issigonis original.
Power is provided by an 848 cc edition of the stalwart A-series OHV four. In the clever and remarkably compact Mini that sits sideways on top of the four-speed manual gearbox, with both engine and transmission sharing their lube. Adding to the car’s compactness, the radiator is mounted to the engine’s right, using a series of vents in the wheel well for airflow. All bolted together, that provides the Mini with 34 horsepower and 44 lb-ft of torque. Yes, that’s right, 34 horses. No, the Mini 850 isn’t quick, but it still can be a lot of fun to toss around, even at the meager speeds of which it is capable.
The ad calls this car “all original,” and that originality does include a noticeable amount of road rot on the doors and front fenders. There’s also some area of worn paint and a bit of loose trim with which to contend. No mention is made of the car’s mechanical condition, but these are as simple as imaginable, so there’s not much that could go wrong. Mileage is shown as 91,540 kilometers on the odometer, which is a modest 56,880 miles. Of course, the car could have gone around the horn, as there are only five barrels to keep track. The title is clean, and the car wears appropriate antique vehicle plates.
Values on original Minis, on the whole, tracked upward a long time ago, at least here in the U.S. market, where the cars are relatively rare. Not only does this privately-imported Innocenti version offer a unique and interesting backstory, but, being an Italian import instead of British, it’s also left-hand drive making it easier to manage in our right-side driving environs. What might someone pay for the opportunity to do so?
The asking price is $9,800, which is relatively cheap for a classic Mini but is a price that reflects the wear evident as well as the car’s gnawing rust. Could that prove a good deal? What’s your take on this Innocenti and that $9,800 asking? Does that seem like a fair price for the Italian Mini? Or is that just too maxi an asking no matter what the language?
You decide!
Providence, Rhode Island, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
H/T to Whatsupdohc for the hookup!
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