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Bluette is a more than exceptional find, a car with nearly every upgrade you could wish for, without saying goodbye to its heritage. This Mini was discovered in the far south of Italy, where you can see the Albanian Mountains across the sea. We bought the car from Francesco, a true classic car enthusiast working for the “Regia Marina” — the Italian Navy — which explains the blue(tte) colour of the Mini.
Aside from being a Marine, Francesco is also the referee of the national Italian boxing championships and owns a stylish coffee bar called Noir, perched on the hill of Massafra. His sense of style and appreciation for good service and proper maintenance, likely influenced by his background in the Navy, clearly carried through into his Mini Classic, more on that later!
To begin with: this MINI originally comes from the Emilia-Romagna region and was sold on the 19th of June 1974 by Emiliana Motors in the city of Ferrara. The original papers list the colour as “Bluette” with a “Nero” interior. Her first free service is also recorded, with just 1,504 km on the clock, on 2 December 1974. Since then, a lot of time (and presumably a lot of fun drives) passed before Francesco took ownership of the car, and he didn’t let her go until everything was just right.
He had the car transported to ZAMBON Autofficina, a friendly garage we know well in northern Italy. No expense was spared here. A full engine-out overhaul was performed, including the head, twin carbs, clutch, axles, brakes, suspension arms, shocks, HiLo suspension, exhaust, KAD shifter, steering rack, magnesium rims with slicks, and all-new rubbers — the list goes on. It’s quite a bit, so let’s break it down:
Were all those things necessary? Probably not. But they make this car an absolute joy to drive. We’ve built and driven quite a few Minis over the years, and we can confidently say this one comes very close to perfection. The engine feels sporty, yet surprisingly relaxed and smooth on the highway. The sound is just right: on twisty roads, with the carbs fully open, you can hear them gasping for air — and when off-throttle, the exhaust gives that perfectly satisfying rumble. It makes you wanna slam the throttle, search for the next corner, and toss it in — which you can do with confidence thanks to fresh rubbers, a tight steering rack, and semi-slick tyres. Everything feels aligned properly, no vibrations, no slack, just pure fun.
The car has been resprayed in its original “Bluette” and retains the original “Nero” Innocenti 1001 interior. Although the carpet has been mostly covered with extra carpets, she still wears her high plush original carpet with the big Innocenti logo on the rubber proudly. The interior of these Innocentis always reflects Italian fine craftsmanship and luxury. Did you know the Italian ashtrays were bigger than the English ones? Or that the front quarter windows were there specifically to let cigarette smoke out while driving?
The original MOMO steering wheel has been swapped for a sportier RAID one. The indicator and light stalks — often known to break — have been replaced with heavy-duty versions. The original wooden gear knob has been replaced by a tight aluminium one, and right in front of you, a small rev counter has been installed.
The MINI comes equipped with some seriously cool magnesium Mille Miglia rims. Brands like 1000Miglia and OZ, now known for supplying wheels to Ferrari or Lamborghini, once started by making lightweight wheels for the Fiat 500 and Mini Cooper. Most were made from aluminium, but these are magnesium, incredibly light and strong. In the same era, full F1 cars were built from magnesium. It was the carbon fibre of its day. As we got to find this Mini in Italy the Mille Miglia event was also running through Italy, and to be honest, watching the Mille Miglia with your Mini on rims of the same name just hits differently.
More about Mille Miglia wheels
A lot of information about a truly great car. We’ve already had quite some fun with it, as could be seen on our Italy trip on Instagram and the photo session aboard a boat in the Biesbosch nature reserve near our garage. We always aim to put some kilometres on the clock, both for testing and enjoyment. We personally drove 725 km in this car. The total mileage since the rebuild (including ours) is around 1,900 km — that’s all the new carbs, suspension, and all the other components have been driven.
Original booklet, invoices, and alignment reports are available upon request — either online or at our garage.
Please don’t wait too long — this might be one of those cars that flies out the door quickly.
Explore Brooks Motors
Visit us in Utrecht to experience our exclusive range of vehicles. If this model isn’t quite right, we offer custom modifications through Brooks Build, crafting your dream classic with upgrades to match your exact specs and budget. From performance to aesthetics—if you can dream it, we can build it. We also provide transport and export services to ensure a seamless purchase process.
We look forward to helping you find or create the perfect vehicle!
MINI regards,
Renk & Tom
Brooks Motors
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By subscribing we’ll be welcoming you into our garage, with regular updates about the cars we work on and products that will come up for sale.
1. At Brooks, every product we make is built to last. We want our customers to drive away at ease and know their car is technically good. Although most of this work will go unseen, you’ll feel it the second you step behind the wheel.
Customers should have access to safe, reliable, and secure services whenever needed. We believe that this is one of the most important aspects of owning a classic car. Find more about our repairs and services in the repair and maintenance section above.
00 316 38 37 66 91
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00 316 38 37 66 91
[email protected]
Broekseweg 100, 4231VH
Meerkerk, The Netherlands
KvK: NL81356773
BTW: NL862055489B01