David Brown Automotive has acquired a reputation for an unconventional approach to automotive classics. The company, started by the eponymous businessman in 2013, has two key product lines. The first is the Speedback GT, an upgraded and radically rebodied Jaguar that draws not-so-subtle inspiration from classic cars once built by Brown’s namesake in the 1960s. The second is the Mini Remastered, which takes the Alec Issigonis icon and gives it a thoroughly modern makeover.
Coronation-edition Mini Remastered, at Linley
This special edition of the Mini Remastered has been created to celebrate King Charles III’s coronation. Presented here in the Belgravia showroom of bespoke furniture maker Linley, it marks another point of contact between the Royal family and this evergreen machine.
The original Mini swiftly became a stalwart symbol of British culture, with high-profile appearances in films like The Italian Job and special editions by Sir Paul Smith and the late Mary Quant only adding to a friendly flag-waving image that didn’t have a jot of jingoism.
David Linley, aka the 2nd Earl of Snowdon, is also well aware of the Mini’s legacy. His parents, Antony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon, and Princess Margaret, were frequently pictured in their own Cooper model back in the 1960s, helping the little car spread its social net far and wide.
Linley’s team hasn’t actually had any hand in this particular Remastered edition, which uses DBA’s in-house team of craftspeople to uprate the interior, replete with sandalwood leather and tan stitching, as well as new instrumentation and equipment. The exterior falls back on that classic Mini trope – the Union Jack roof emblem – along with British racing-green paintwork and white wheels.
Could this lead to a future collaboration? Up until now, the Linley touch has been seen on a special edition Bentley, as well as discreet consultancy work with Aston Martin Lagonda. A Linley Mini would continue a pocket-sized coachbuilding tradition that dates back almost as far as the original 1959 car and add the ultimate regal touch.
